UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS LEGENDS OF KENT & RECORDS OF THE FAMILY OF BOYS BY LILIAN BOYS BEHRENS

LONDON THE SAINT CATHERINE PRESS ST AM FORD STREET S.E. 1926

Dedicated to The Men of Kent and Kentish Men and to The Maids of Kent and Kentish Maids

PREFACE

T is with pleasure that I write a few words of introduction to this book, which records the legends an~ deeds of an historical family in some respects unique. The name of Boys has been known in Kent and other counties since 1066, when a knight of Wm. the Conqueror, one Richard de Bosco, landed on these shores. In later years the spelling of the name was changed to Boys, Boyes, Boyce and Bois. This Godfearing, honourable family have not only been always loyal to their King and Country, but have done much to help in the making of England and her colonies. This record is the result of long and earnest study from all available documents, and the author is very grateful to all her relations and friends who have so kindly assisted her in the work. The book will be found of great interest, not only to members of the family, but to archreologists and historians generally, and should. find a place in every public and private library. As all profits resulting from the sale of this work ( after publishing expenses are paid) are to go towards a fund to enlarge Jesus Hospital, Canterbury, it is hoped that it may obtain widespread and liberal support. MARTIN CONWAY.

Allington Castle, Kent, June 28th, 1926.

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

HE Author of this book has T compiled it purely as a labour of love. It has beguiled many hours for her, and she had no intention of publishing what to her was a collection of notes in book form. Members of her family, however, have expressed a keen desire that the book should be issued. Historians and genea­ logical critics will no doubt bear this in mind when criticising the work.

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED

Cotton MSS. Hasted's Kent, fo., 1790 ; 8 vols., 1722. Buchanan's Scotland, 1722. Philpot's Villare Cantianum, fo., 1659. Drake's Historia Anglo-Scotica, 8 vols., 1703. Burke's Peerage. Rees' Cyclopredia, 1819. Aikman's History of Scotland, 1827. Kilburne's Survey of Kent, 8 vols., 1650. Lambarde's Perambulations. Dugdale's Baronage, 1670. Buckler's Stemmata Chicheleance, 4to, 1765. Hart MS. Leland's Itinerary and Collectanea. Fuller's Worthies, 1658. Banks's Dorm.ant and Extant Peerage. Bethane's Genealogical Tables, 1795. The Inquisitio Eliendis. Stow's Chronicle. The late Rev. Geoffrey Fielding, the great student and authority on Kentish Genealogy. Ancient Deeds. Close Rolls. Feudal Aids. Fine Rolls. Inquisition Post Mortems.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Goodnestone Farm • • . . . . • • Frontispiece

Seal of William de Bosco • • . . . . • • • • 6

Archbishop Sancroft and Edward Boys • • .• facing 6 The Roman Pharos, Dover Castle ; Reculver Church, 1809; Interior from the West, Reculver Church; Vicarage House, Reculver, 1808 . . . . facing 10 Fredville, 1838; Canterbury Cathedral; Goodnestone Church; Hospital Church, Harbledown, 1815 ; St. Martin's Church, Canterbury, 1815; St. Albans Court fadng 18

Arms of Galfrid de Boys • • • • • • • • • • 21

Crusaders' Cross • • • • • • • • • • • • 22

Early Crest of Boys • • • • • • • • • • • • 24 Church of the Holy Cross, Goodnestone ...... 28 William and Isabella, Children and Coat of Arms facing 28

The Holy Trinity • • ...... • • 30

Vincent and Lady Mary Boys • • • • .. facing 30

Symbolical Carvings • • • • • • • • • • • • 31 Donnington Castle, 1732, and Sir John Boys of Donnington Castle ...... / acing 32 Coat of Arms before 1591; Coat of Arms after 1591 ; Bull Coat of Arms quartered with Boys of Kent, and Coats of Arms of Sir John Boys of Canterbury, T. Ross Boys, Canada, John Boys of Donnington Castle facing 42 Dean John Boys; Title Page of the Works of Dean John Boys, 1622 ...... / acing 60 Sandwich ; St. Clement's Church, Sandwich, 1826; Old Grammar School at Sandwich; Old Sandwich, 1793 facing 70 Professor C. V. Boys, 1925 .. • • • • • • " 74 Captain William Boys; Dr. William Boys of Sandwich; Henry Hammel Alvez Boys and Wife ; William Boys of Willesborough, 1775-1865; W. A. Boys, K.C., M.P. facing

The Old Dutch House, Canterbury .. • • • • • •

Seal of Sir John Boys of St. Gregories • • • • • • Sir John Boys of St. Gregories, 1535-1612; Jesus Hospital, Canterbury...... facing 86 Tombs of Dean John Boys and Sir John Boys in Canterbury Cathedral ...... facing 90

Arms of John Boys of Denton .. • • • • • • • • 91

Malin Boys and Her Twelve Children • • .. facing 94

Thomas Boys of Upper Deal .. • • • • . . • • 95

Arms of Thomas Boys of Upper Deal .. • • • • • • 96 Boys Hall, ,villesborough, and Tappington Hall, Denton facing 98 A Bedroom, Boys Hall, and The Hall, Boys Hall 102 " John Boys of Betteshanger and Mary Harvey; Vice-Admiral H. Boys and Admiral Henry Boys ; Dr. A. H. Boys ; Brig.-General Reginald Harvey Henderson Boys, C.B., D.S.O...... fadng I 16 Betteshanger Farm House and Old Betteshanger Church ,, 124 Hymn Tunes by the Boys Family ...... ,, 142 Tomb of Sir Roger and Lady Boys and Layer Marney Towers ...... facing 152

John Boys and Wife, 1419 • • • • • • • • • • 1 53 PART I

EARLY KENTISH HISTORY " BONNYNGTON " "FREDVILLE" HOAD OR BLEAN COURT BETZH.f\NGER AND NORTHBOURNE SANDWICH AND DEAL SIR JOHN BOYS OF ST. GREGORIES DENTON AND T APPINGTON HALL BOYS HALL WILLESBOROUGH, AND HAWKHURST

SKELETON PEDIGREE OF THE BOYS FAMILY, SHOWING BRANCHES 1066 (Richard de Bosco l John ob. 1096 - Richard de Bois = Adria John de Bois Thomas de Bois = Joan or Jane Wil1iam ob. 1307 = Maude de Bonyngton Edmund = Mary Thomas = Margt. de Bonyngton of Bonyngton John ob. 1362 - Sarah of Fredville William - Jane Coles ob. 1425 of Bonyngton John - Agnes Thomas ob. 14 79 - Edith William ob. 1507 ,- Isabel Phalop

I I I William Jolin Thomas Wi\Jiam Richard .1 . I ,------,-----'---.,...., -----. '1 V1ncent Richard Edward Thomas Vincent Sir ohn I I Richard l I I ,--~ JohnI Thomas W ii'1· tam I Thornas Edward Edward John en Herbert ." Rolert 1-j 1-j t::c (') (I) I t:T t:T M- ::r (1) (1) William ::rCJ) ~ ::r: ::r: 0 0 0 § wJiiam p) OQ ~ p,. M- (1) .. I -r.n tj John t::c M- ""' (I) "'1 tc p) ""'(I) •-t e?.. ::J (1) ~ I M' ::, p) g.. (') ::, I ~ . lh ::, :,· p,. William Rte ard ,-... ,-... t-.r:l p,. r.n X p) I M' t:o ~ ::, Wil 1am Markby ..... p) ... '1· ::, ►-1 p,. (') rn er I . M' rt- (') ~ ..._,,. 0 ..._,,...... A. ~enry ::, g. - ,_ I I Leonard ...... ~ I I ::, ,----- John (') -!:!, ,---·--- New Zealand Branch f St. Albans Branch from the Betzhanger Tenants' Branch A fuller copy of this Pedigree can be see,i in the British Museum

f />/1()/ogmph l>y C hn rl/011, <·a 11tcrh 11 1·,• GOODNESTONE I1'ARlVI

CHAPTER I

EARLy KENTISH HISTORY

HE earliest authentic records of the de Bois family relate to the period of the Norman Conquest, although there is a T legend that le Sieur de Bois, mentioned in the Battle Abbey Roll of le Taileur de Rouen, and who was the ancestor of the East Kent family of Boys, was by birth a Saxon named Attwood and, as a thane, held land of the great Earl Godwin. When the Earl was outlawed, this Attwood went with him to France and took knightly service under the Dukes of Normandy. Dropping the first syllable of his name, and changing the other into French, he appears in the Battle Roll as de Bois. There would appear to be no documentary evidence extant to prove this transfer, but when any person of note was, for political reasons, turned out of England, or found it ad­ visable to leave, Normandy would be his natural refuge, and there was sufficient interchange between the cross-channel neighbours to save the legend from being quite improbable. i\.t all events, there is ample evidence that two men of the name fought under the invader at Hastings. Foxe's Acts and Monuments, vol. ii, records two de Bois as survivors of the battle, and Leland also mentions two, apart from the famous Battle Abbey Roll, drawn up in obedience to a clause in the Conqueror's foundation charter that enjoined the monks to pray for the souls of those who by their labour and valour had helped to win the kingdom. It is evident that the family of the de Bois was prolific, as well as distinguished, from the very beginning of the Norman period. Branches of the family that long flourished in Leicestershire and Northants traced their descent from the De Bois Arnaud, hereditary Stewards of the Counts of Breteuil, Sieurs de Poilly. Their signatures appear i11 the charter of William FitzOsbome. Robert de Bois and his brother held estates in Buckinghamshire 1086. It appears also that the stock extended into Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Bernard de Neumarche granted a barony to a de Bois in Brecknock, in 1088, named Trebois. The name of Wood was styled in old evidence and writs as de Bosco, and occurs at a very early period; and in a charter of William the Con­ queror the name found is Willelmus de Bosco, Cancellarius regis, and Hugo de Bosco is mentioned as a witness therein. Of the Scotch de Bois we read Sir Humphrey de Bois of Dryfes­ dale was slain at Lochmaben in 1333; he is supposed by Dalrymple to have been the ancestor of Hector Boyce, the historian. Aubert de A2 5 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Bois the Second, a family historian, furnished many facts regarding the English landed aristocracy. The Irish branch, which adopted the spelling " Boyce " and also claims descent from de Bosco, went over to Ireland in I 172 with Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, nicknamed Strongbow, the warlike but impecunious peer who had great influence in South Wales. These English and Norman adventurers, who seized half the soil of the island, built themselves many castles, and held down the Celts around them. Strongbow granted a barony in co. Wex­ ford to Boyce, and from him sprang nearly all the Irish branches of the Boyce family, including Henry Arthur Boyce, the father of the present owner of the Bannow estate, co. Wexford. One of the l~t of the Irish branches lived at Carnew Castle, co. Wicklow (Helene Boyce). So far as the Boys family of Kent is concerned, whether the men who fought at Hastings were Normans or whether they were, as legend holds, Saxons returning to win back, under feudal tenure, the lands they once held as thanes and had been dispossessed of by the greatest of all plunderers, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, there is in England to-day no family with a greater right to be proud of its ancient lineage. SEAL OF WILLIAM DE BOSCO In family deeds of the time of the earliest Norman kings the name was sometimes spelt de Bois and sometimes de Bosco, and the land allotted to John de Bois, 1087, for services rendered at the Con­ quest, was known as Bonnington, in East Kent, and is now known as Bunnington Farm, an ancient Saxon estate. Philpots recorded that among the title deeds of the Bonnington estate there were in the sixteenth century seventeen deeds prior to 1353, con­ veyances and transfers of that estate in the Boys family, some un­ dated and scarcely legible, that recorded the family's possession of the estate from within a century of the Norman Conquest. In the later of these deeds the name is spelt de Bois and in the others de Bosco. Thomas Boys lived in Bonnington House in I 189. It ,vas his grandson and the latter's wife, Maude de Bonnington, and their family who helped to build the church of the Holy Cross at Goodnestone, the village which derived its name from Godwin, Earl of Kent and father of Harold II. While dealing with the earlier mentions of the name, the following cases may be instanced. William Boys of Sandcroft was descended 6 EDvVARD BOYS ARCHBISHOP SANCROFT

ARCHBISHOP \VILLIAl\-1 Si\NCROFT from Guillaume de Bois of the Bailiwick of Came, who settled in Essex 1086. William de Bois, or Boys, was of the village of South Elmham, and from him was descended the William of Sandcroft who had a distinguished career in the Church. He was born at Fressing­ field, where the family ,vas seated from 1463 to 1616. He was educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St. Edmunds. He was nominated to the deanery of St. Paul's in 1664, and two years later, at a con­ sultation between him, the Bishop of London, and Christopher Wren, it was decided to finish the cathedral with a noble cupola, a form of church building not previously known in this country. Dean Sancroft (he alv;ays omitted the "d '' in his name) devoted many years to the raising of large contributions for the building fund, and himself gave £1,400. He rose to be the ecclesiastical head of the English Church, being created Archbishop of Canterbury in 1677, and assisted in revising the Church literature. He, with six other Bishops, was imprisoned in the Tower for refusing to conform with the government of William III. Thus deprived of his office, 1691, he returned to his native village, dying in obscurity and being buried in Fr_essingfield churchyard, where at the foot of his tomb is found the inscription, written by himself :- " William Sancroft of this parish afterwards by the Providence of God Archbishop of Canterbury, at last deprived of all, which he could not keep with a good conscience, returned hither to end his life where he began it, and professeth here at the foot of his tomb That as naked he came forth so naked he must return. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away (as the Lord pleaseth so came things to pass). Blessed be the name of the Lord.'' Archbishop Sancroft was known as a pious, humble and good Christian. On his death-bed he repeated, " What I have done, I have done in the integrity of my heart." He was abstemious in his diet, and enjoyed a pipe of tobacco after breakfast and a glass of rum at night. During the latter years of his life Sancroft lived at Ufford Hall, moving in 1692 into what he described" a cottage of my own build­ ing " and " this lodge is a garden of cucumbers " on his own property. His Bible and private silver Communion cup, used by him after his deprivation, which is handsomely engraved and dated 1667, are still preserved, as is one of the silver medals, dated 1688, bearing on the obverse side the head of the Archbishop and on the reverse side the heads of the seven nonjuring Bishops who were committed to the Tower. The pulpit of Fressingfield was given by J. Sancroft Holmes, in 1888, in memory of his ancestor the Archbishop. The coat of arms of the Sandcroft branch bore three crosses with a chevron (as a younger branch), while the De Boscos of Elm.ham bore a cross. Robert de Bosco married Isolda, and received, 1264, 7 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS a grant to him and his heirs of a weekly market on Wednesdays at his manor of Gerboldesham and of a yearly fair on the vigil, the feast, and the morrow of St. Luke. His son, Robert of Brokbrestyng, married Margery, and they had two children, Robert and Alice, who married in 1300 Admiral Sir John Howard, by which alliance the whole inheritance of that branch of the Boys family came into the Howard family. In 1198 Robert de Bosco had a suit against Robert de Sancroft for lands in Elingham and Hennersfield, Suffolk. (R.C.R.) Other slight mentions of the family in history follow :- 1307. Gift made to Nicholas de Bosco, keeper of the Isle of Wight and Carisbrooke Castle. Order given to tenants to be attendant to him as constable and keeper, answering for the issues and receiving yearly the usual fees. He bore arms ermine 2 bars and a quarter gules (Henry III Roll). [Sir Nichol de Boys and John bore argent a chevron sable bezanty 3 or 5.] Corfe Castle, of which for some years another Boys was keeper, was the favourite residence of King John, where he starved to death twenty of the noblest of the knights of Poitou and Guienne. They were thrown into dungeons and buried without coffins under the walls. (Paris.) This was the last stronghold in the West Country between Exeter and London which held out for Charles I, but it was eventually starved into surrender, and was demolished. Sherborne had surrendered the year before, and in 1692 John Boys was made Post Master of the town. In 1334 an order was made to take into the King's hands the lands of the late Robert de Bosco, deceased, tenant-in-chief, and a commission to Robert de Boys of the keeping of the King's park within the forest of Feckenham. The Norfolk Boys bore arms 2 bars with a demigriffon-demieagle, and as late as 1415 is recorded that Isabella, da. of John Boys of Norfolk, married Robert Southwell, trustee of the Duke of Norfolk. Of the Norfolk branch must not be forgotten Richard de Boys, who bore Mortimer's arms. (See George and Howard Rolls.) Of this family one took up arms in the Crusade of 1272. Sir Richard Boys of Suffolk bore at the first Dunstable tournament in 1308 ermine a cross sable, while another Robert Boys bore it at the second Dunstable tournament, 1334, as did also John Boys of the South. (Jenyns Roll.) As the Essex branch will be more fully described in another chapter, one must now pass on to East Kent and try to realise the land and people where the Kentish branch came from first, just mentioning the Boys of Halberton, among whom was mentioned in Domesday Herbert de Bois, Baron of Halberton as early as 1050, and Hugo de Bosco 1083. The family long flourished also in Dorset, while the Devon, Somerset, Wilts, Dorset, and Rants branches all had the 8 BUILDING OF RECUI_JVER CASTLE same arms with differences-viz., a chevron between trees or acorns­ and quite different from those of the Kentish family, a griffon within a bordure. The present family of Boyce living in Devonshire claims its descent from the Boys of Halberton. (F.W.B.) In 1344 John Boys of Dertemouth, son of John, caused a com­ mission to receive fines from him for certain contempts and tres­ passes done in the port of Dartmouth. 1404. John de Boys, ste,vard of the household of the Duchess of Gloucester, was made one of the surveyors of her will. 1410. The will of John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, was proved and attested by John Boys, of Carisbrooke Castle.

When Septimus Severus came with the Romans and conquered Kent, his first object was to build strong fortresses, and in A.D. 205 he built with Roman bricks the Reculver Castle. " Hee alfo made a great ditch or trench with a very strong wall fortified with many turrets and towers, in length 132 miles, extending from sea to sea, where leaving garrisons for the defence thereof hee returned to York and there dyed." This castle, tradition says, later became King Ethelbert's royal palace, and in Reculver Church he was buried. In the Acta Sanctorum a strange ghost story is told relating to the tomb. The priest in charge neglected it, and one night when he was in the chapel there suddenly issued forth from the tomb, in a blaze of light which filled the whole apse, the figure of a boy holding a torch ; long golden hair flowed round his shoulders ; his face was as white as snow, his eyes shone light as stars. He rebuked the priest and returned to his tomb. There was a statue of Ethel­ bert in the chapel of St. Pancras as late as 1677, and a head or bust, said to have been of Queen Bertha, embedded in the walls as late as Queen Elizabeth's time. !~ow it is remarkable that the following manuscripts should have been traced and reprinted in 1802, entitled Sketches from Nature, by George Keate, and a shortened account here will interest many, and will show reason for introducing the old Roman fortress. " Several years ago," Keate says, " I was detained at Louvain and was interested to find two manuscripts in one of the college libraries relating to English families. They were the memorials of a Dominican friar of Canterbury, who quitted England at the time of the Reformation, and amongst the many subjects was an account of the Reculver Church." [The Louvain Library was destroyed by the Germans, 1914-15.]

9 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS

" THE Two SISTERS " Lady Margaret Boys, a woman of high birth and rare endow­ ments, married Geoffrey de St. Clair about 1445.* They had twin daughters, Frances and Isabella, who were devoted to each other, and they were brought up in the ways of all useful knowledge. Their parents died when they were just over 25 years of age, and the greatest comfort they received then was from their uncle, John de St. Clair, who was Abbot of St. Augustine's monastery in Canterbury, into whose care their father had placed them, leaving each daughter a very large fortune. Frances became the Lady Abbess of Feversham. Isabella wished to take the veil so as not to be parted from her sister, but was persuaded against such a course. During one of her visits to Canterbury she met Henry de Belville, to whom she was shortly betrothed, it being arranged they should live in the family seat, the castle of St. Clare on the Medway. Unfortunately, at the battle of Bosworth Field the horse of Henry de Belville was killed, while he fell with a broken thigh; he was removed to the Black Friars' monastery in Leicester, where he gave his page a ring for his intended bride and died the following day. Isabella then entered the convent of her sister. About fourteen years later the Abbess was dangerously ill, and made _ a vow to the Blessed Virgin Mary that if she recovered she would send some costly offering to a chapel, which was consecrated to her at Broad-Stairs. After her recovery the two sisters left one evening aboard a passenger sloop to fulfil the vow, but they had been scarcely two hours at sea before a violent storm arose, so that it was impossible to direct the vessel. The captain tried to run into a place called Reculver, but struck a bank of sand called " the Horse " ; a small boat was launched and he carried the Abbess into it and went back for Isabella, but a panic had started on board and the small boat pushed off, leaving several to their fate. Fortunately, the boat held till the morning, when Isabella was rescued, but the terror she had experienced and the exhaustion of having been all night up to her waist in water proved too much for her, and she died the following evening. Soon after, to perpetuate the memory of her sister, as well as to direct mariners in their course, Frances caused a very ancient church just above the village of Reculver to be restored and enlarged, and at one end to be erected two towers 60 feet high, with eight windows each and trefoil heads, and upon these lofty spires lights to be fixed, to be called the Twin Sisters. The church took seven years to finish, double windows of peculiar construction were put • The St. Clair family lived at the old moated farmhouse kno,vn as St. Clere, Essex, which still retains a gate,vay of flint and stone dated 1400. IO rer:? •:~_,:

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THE ROMAN PHAROS, DOVER CASTLE

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RECULVER CHURCH, 1809

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INTERIOR FROl\l THE \,VEST, VICARAGE HOUSE, RECl.J°LVER, 1808 RECULVER CHURCH

THE PHAROS AT DOVER in the south wall, and the large westernmost pillars in the nave were 8 feet by 15 inches. The Abbess Frances died in 1512, and was buried beside her sister. The memorial plate of brass reads : " Faithful, congenial spirits !-in whatsoever world ye reside, peace be your lot !-as virtue was your portion here !-Long, long may this memorial of your love remain ! to guide the dubious vessel in its course, make your names blest by the wanderers of the deep ! " In 1805 Reculver Church and village stood in safety. In 1806 the sea commenced to encroach, and the farmers began tak:'1g up the seaside stonework and sold it to the Margate Pier Company for a foundation of a new pier, and the timber by auction, as it was good oak fit for their home use, and then the village became totally exposed to the inroads of the sea. " Oct. 13th, 1802. The Chapel house fell in." "This been all dun and spread abroad, the people came from all parts to see the ruines of village and the church. Mr. C. C. Nailor been Vicar of the Parish, his mother fancied that the Church was kept for a poppet show, and she persuaded har son to take it down, so he took it in consideration and named it to the farmers in the parish about taking it down ; sum was for it and some against it, than Mr. Nailor wrote to the Bishop to know if he might have the Church took down, and is answer was it must be dun by a majority of the people in the parish, so halfter a long time he got the majority of one, so down came the Church." (A. Cant.) "ThelasttaxthatMr.Nailortookwasthese words, Let your ways be the ways of rightness, and your path the peace, and down came the Church, and what wos in throats about is flock that day no one knows.'' The history of the St. Clair family was written by a Canon of St. Genevieve, the Abbe Richard Augustine Hay, no doubt a relative. From this history it is seen the ancestor of the family was William de St. Clair, a Norman noble who settled in Scotland. His de­ scendant, also a William St. Clair, Lord of Rosslyn, built the beautiful chapel of Rosslyn, which is still in good preservation, and to which is connected the superstition that immediately before the death of a member of the Sinclair family it is said to be brilliantly illumi­ nated. At the entrance to the family vault is a large flagstone, under which lie the Barons of Rosslyn, descendants of the younger branch. The vault is so dry that their bodies have been found entire after 80 years and as fresh as when they were first buried, these Barons being anciently deposited in their armour, without any coffin. The Romans built the Pharos or lighthouse at Dover ; above the foundations was a lump of masonry called Cresar's Altar, or the Devil's Drop of Mortar, and near this spot several of the Lord Wardens were sworn in. The Roman Pharos at Boulogne was II UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS built by Caligula in A.D. 44 to commemorate his expedition to the town, and was repaired by Charlemagne and then used as a fortress. St. Martin's Church, Canterbury, built while the Romans were still in Britain, was used as an oratory by the Christian Queen Bertha, da. of the King of Paris, and wife of Ethelbert. The Saxon font was low for immersion baptism (the common seal of St. Augustine's Abbey represents King Ethelbert being baptized in the font). The Normans raised it by adding 22 stones. St. Augustine, the Apostle of Kent, sent over by Pope Gregory the Great in 596, with his monks, landed at Ramsgate and at once began to build churches. They built St. Augustine's Monastery in Canterbury, which at the time of the Dissolution, 1538, became unoccupied and fell into ruins, until in 1843 it was restored and became a missionary college. In excavating the ruins of the old chapel were found the tombs of an Archbishop of 597 and another of 627, while in 1924 was found a group of royal tombs belonging to the Anglo-Saxon dynasty ; one of these was inscribed " Here rests Lothaire, King of the English. He died 8th February, 685," the completion of the date being on the back of the tablet. Lothaire was the great-grandson of the able and popular Ethelbert. The second tomb is inscribed" Here rests Wilfred, King of the English. He died the 24th April in the year 725.'' The other tombs found were of Edbald and Wulf, invading kings of the time, who, in spite of Norse valour, were overthrown by the sturdy men of Kent, who buried them in their own church. During Julius Cresar's visit to England he said : " By far the most civilised are the inhabitants of Cantium ; they do not differ much in their customs from the Gauls."

"The Yeomen of Kent." " The father to the bough, and the son to the plough."

A large class of the inhabitants of Kent were yeomen. Gavel­ kind, the land tenure existing chiefly in Kent, probably began in Saxon times. Originally it was " by gavel " that payment of rent was made, or fixed services other than military. At the tenant's death the land was equally divided amongst his sons. Before the Conquest all the lands were of gavelkind tenure, but then knight's service was introduced, the descent being restricted to the eldest son for the preservation of the tenure. After the death of Harold, Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Egelsine, Abbot of St. Augustine, were placed at the head of the Kentish people. " This done," says Lambarde, " each man gotten him a greene bough in his hand, and bare it over his head. They then sent a message: 'The Commons of Kent are readie to offer thee, eyther 12 THE BATTLE ABBEY ROLL peace, or warre, at thine own choyce and election : peace with their faithful obedience, if thou wilt permit them enjoy their ancient liberties : warre, and that most deadly, if thou deny it them.' " The King, being afraid of the results, agreed, and they only of all England obtained for ever their accustomed privileges. To this custom we owe a large and honourable class renowned for its bravery in the field. Their wealth is described in the following verse :-

" A squire from Wales, a knight of Cales, And a laird of the North Countrie ; A yeoman of Kent, with half a year's rent, Will buy them out all three."

We may confidently assert that nearly as much land in Kent is now subject to the control of this custom as there was previous to the Act 2 Henry VII for disgavelling land (J. Boys). But all these old customs disappear under the new Act, January 1926.

" Men of Kent, remember ye Like your sires of old to be Foremost of our English free.'' WORDSWORTH.

Previous to the Norman army leaving St. Valery a list of the chief men had been taken, and William caused this Roll to be read to ascertain who had fallen after the battle of Hastings, in which the men of Kent were in the front, when the Saxons took to flight before the Norman invaders, thousands of brave men falling on both sides. " On the spot where God granted William I the kingdom of England he built a mighty minster, and set monks therein and well endowed it." The Roll was hung in the Abbey and Minster for more than two centuries after the Dissolution, when it was removed to the parish church, Battle. As time went on it became more and more an ambition to own an ancestor who was on the Roll, and the monks were often found willing to add a name for a liberal sum. King William's sword (given to the Abbey at its consecration by William Rufus), his despoiled pallium, and the Roll were still safely with Sir Anthony Browne, Master of the Horse of Henry VIII, at Battle, but were moved. to Cowdray, and the precious relics were destroyed by fire 1n 1793. The Normans had readily embraced Christianity, and their morals and manners were of the highest quality. They were distin­ guished by their graceful bearing and natural eloquence. They 13 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS were already a famous race. One knight,vitha few warriors had scat­ tered the Celts of Connaught ; another had founded the kingdom of the two Sicilies ; another, the Ulysses of the first Crusade, was given the sovereignty of Antioch. William himself was a pious man and did much to help settle the disputes of the Normans on their arrival in the strange land, where as conquerors they were looked upon as the aristocracy, and the Saxons as the people of the land ; but the latter soon began to copy the more civilised race in manners and customs. Would the Normans find a great change in the country to-day ? The Romans left good roads ; the monas­ teries had built villages round their convents, which were well populated. Woods were thick, wild animals abounded. In 1824 John Boys wrote in his Survey of Kent that there were 20,000 acres of waste land in that county. In 1924 there were the motor car and the motor bicycle, and they are much more difficult to avoid than any wild animal. To-day much land has been cultivated, fruit trees planted by thousands, especially the cherry, for which Kent is still so famous. These trees were also grown in Roman times, and, judging from the quantity of cherry stones found in the Roman ruins at Silchester, cherries must have been used extensively for food. They were probably first imported by the Romans A.D. 100, but some finer sorts were introduced from France in 1540. In 1796 John Boys, the farmer of Betzhanger, did much for the country from his scientific knowledge of husbandry. He wrote : " The occupiers of the small farms in general work themselves much harder, and fare worse than other labourers. They are generally a very industrious, sober set of men ; they fare hard and live with great frugality. As to making fortunes there is no such thing ever came to my knowledge. Instances have been known of old farmers, who perhaps had no family, and never spent any­ thing beyond the expences of a labourer, so that a fortune has been made by compound interest.''

" Kent, in the commentaries Cresar writ, Sternid the civilist place of all this isle : Sweet is the County full of Riches. To people liberal, valiant, active, wealthy." SHAKESPERE.

Before beginning a ne\v chapter let us take a peep at the old city of Canterbury, for the interest of those who have not had the privi­ lege of seeing it themselves. Over 200,000 pilgrims annually visit -the town, the first object of their pilgrimage being the Cathedral, which was built on the site of the old British church. In 1067 the building was burnt, and of it only a few Saxon stones are left in the 14 CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL foundations. The Conqueror recalled Lanfranc from Normandy (1073) to commence the rebuilding, which, when finished, was again burnt down. Living so near the city, the Boys ·must have watched with pride the noble work which was again commenced, and certainly the completion of it must have stirred in them the wish to build their own small church at Goodnestone. At any rate, the Abbot of Croyland also wanted to rebuild his church about this time in a magnificent manner, and so obtained from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York a Bull dispensing with the third part of all penances to those who would contribute towards it. In this manner a heap of treasure was collected, and on the Feast of the Holy Virgins Felicitas and Perpetua an immense multitude arrived in Croyland to assist at the ceremony. So much was collected that a noble building was commenced. One is thankful to know that the Abbot entertained the whole company· of over 5,ooo persons to dinner!

"Yet your Lydgates and Chaucers Had no cups and saucers : Their breakfast, in fact, and the best they could get Was a sort of a dejeuner a la fourchette: Instead of our slops-They had stoups, tankards and pots ; And they wound up the meal ,vith rumpsteaks and shallots.'' Ingoldsby Legends.

Canterbury Cathedral was built in the form of a cross, and now from its size and vast simplicity it gives a far grander internal appearance than the Abbey of Westminster, which is so overcrowded with heavy Victorian monuments. One of the most simple sights in the Cathedral, and one which must have impressed many, and cannot easily be forgotten, is seen at the close of the evening service when the daylight wanes and the Dean with his red hood over his surplice slowly walks from the choir up the long aisle and chancel and mounts the steps to the high altar (built so high to allow for the roof of Our Lady Undercroft's Chapel in the crypt), looking smaller and smaller in the distance, kneels in prayer, and slowly turns to pronounce the final blessing. Here kings and queens were married, crowned, and buried ; here lies Edward the Black Prince, who married his cousin Joan, " The Fair Maid of Kent," and as a memorial of this nuptial left the beautiful chapel in the crypt, now used on Sundays for the French congregation. The Prince's tomb, one of the most perfect in England, is covered with a canopy representing" Christ Crucified and Christ Risen." Above hang the Prince's surcoat, helmet, shield, crest and gauntlets. 15 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS While passing through the city with his prisoner, King John of France, in 1357, legend says, he washed at " The Black Prince's Well'' at Harbledown, which was well known for medicinal properties. But no one could write any account of Canterbury without allud­ ing to Thomas a Becket. The trouble arose first by Becket being abroad at the time of the young King's coronation. This cere­ mony was performed by the Archbishop of York, assisted by the Bishops of London and Salisbury. The inalienable right of crown­ ing the sovereigns of England from the time of Augustine down­ wards was inherent to the see of Canterbury, and the moment the news was communicated to Becket, in his usual ardour he procured from the Pope letters of excommunication against the three prelates who had taken part in the coronation. There had been a contest for some time between Becket and the see of York as to who should have pre-eminence, and at Northampton their crosses had already confronted each other like hostile spears. "A synod was called at Westminster, the Pope's legate being present thereat, on whose right hand sat Richard, Archbishop of Canterbury, as in his proper place; when in springs Roger of York, and finding Canterbury so seated, fairly sits him down on his lap, irreverently pressing his haunches down upon the Archbishop." (Stephen of Birchington.) Becket in a voice of thunder excommunicated Randulf and Robert de Broe for having docked the tail of his sumpter mule. Lambarde says that the people of Stroud insulted Becket as he rode through the town, and, like the Brocs, cut off the tails of his horses. Some in Spain believe to this day that as a judgment Englishmen, especially Kentish men, are born with horses' tails. (Cole on the Greek Church.) The three prelates, finding the Archbishop determined that they should remain excommunicated, went to the King, who was so goaded by the affair that he flew into one of those paroxysms of fury to which all the earlier Plantagenet princes were subject, and screamed " Will no one rid me of this low-born priest ? " The four knights, Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, Wil­ liam de Tracy and Richard le Brez or Bret ( commonly called "Brute"), then obtained an interview with Becket, who still refused absolution to the Bishops. A terrible scuffle ensued. " His death, which they untruly called martyrdom, happened upon a rescue by him made, and that, as it is written, he gave opprobrious names to the gentlemen which then counselled him to leave his - stubbornness, and to avoid the commotion of the people risen up for the rescue. And he not only called one of them ' Bawde,' but also took Tracy by the bosom, and violently shook and plucked him, 16 THOMAS A BECKET in such a manner as he had almost overthrown him to the pavement of the church." (Wilk. Cone.) The murderers, having killed Becket, plundered the coffers and fled to South Malling. On entering the archiepiscopal manor, they threw their arms and trappings on the oak dining-room table and had supper ; suddenly the table started back and threw the weapons on the floor. The servants replaced the weapons, but again a crash was heard, and the arms flew farther off. One of the conscience-stricken murderers suggested the table refused to have on it the sacrilegious burden of their arms. This was a popular story in the fourteenth century, when the table was still in the same place. It is the earliest recorded instance of a" rapping," "leaping" and turning table. (Grandison.) From that time the murderers had no peace. The Pope gave them as a penance 14 years' service in the Holy Land, where, it is said, they died, and the inscription on their graves was :-

'' Hie jacent miseri qui martyrisaverunt Beatum Thomam Archiepiscopum Cantuariensem.''

Tracy never left England ; the winds of heaven were always against him, and his descendants lived in Gloucester. The quaint saying was long known : " The Tracys have always the wind in their faces.'' During repairs in 1852 of Kewstoke Church a wooden cup, much decayed, was discovered in a hollow in the back of a statue of the Virgin fixed against the wall in the choir. From the connection of the Priory with the murderers of Becket, and from the fact that the seal of the Prior contained a chalice as part of its device, it is thought the ancient cup was thus preserved at the Dissolution, as a valuable relic, and that the blood it contained was that of the murdered Primate. A fragment of this cup is now in Taunton Museum. Canterbury is now officially one parish, and, according to the Charity Commissioners' scheme, all citizens of seven years' residence may apply for admission to Jesus Hospital. An amusing story is told of a present-day descendant of the family of Thomas a Becket and two young descendants of Tracy. A Becket accused the Tracys' family of murdering his ancestor, whereon the two schoolboys gave him a thrashing he is never likely to forget. Thus again did Tracy come out top. It may not be generally known that the sword which killed a Becket was preserved for centuries by a certain family, and even in very recent years a dying a Becket begged the sword might be given to his family. But, unfortunately, this wish was refused, and two years later the house where it lay was destroyed by fire and no part of the sword could ever be traced. 17 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS At the time of Becket's death he was buried in the crypt by the monks, who removed the mass of garments in which he was wrapt, almost incredible in number, which ,vere chiefly worn for the sake of warmth, and in consequence of his naturally chilly temperament. He was wearing a large brown mantle, with white fringes of ,vool. Below this a white surplice. A white fur garment of lamb's wool and two short woollen pelisses. The black cowled garment of the Benedictine Order and the shirt. The haircloth garment of unusual roughness which encased the whole body down to the knees ; the hair drawers as well as the dress being covered with linen ; and the whole so fastened together as to admit being readily taken off for his daily scourgings, of which the day before 's portion was still visible in the stripes of his body at the time of his death. The austerity of hair drawers, on the bare skin, was unknown to English saints. To our notion the most revolting concomitant was the innumerable vermin with which the haircloth abounded-boiling over with them, as one account describes it, like water in a simmering cauldron. (Passi,o Quinta.) One wonders what St. Thomas really thought when he read the verse, " Cleanse first that which is within." His mind could have turned to the motto placed in a school girl's cubicle, who was not too clean in her habits, which read : " Cleanse first that which is without." Several miracles reported to have taken place at Becket's shrine gave rise to the pilgrimages. What variety of dress must have been among those who plodded on the dusty roads, accompanied by hired minstrels to help lighten the weary way ! On they came for three centuries, every year as regular as " April with his showers sweet." We sincerely hope they all started ,vith well-made sandals, or surely they would have missed the cobbler. In 1370, as the pilgrims were on their way from London, they were overtaken by Simon of Sudbury, Bishop of London, after­ wards Primate. He was bold and told them the plenary indulgence ,vhich they hoped to get at the shrine ,vould be of no avail, for it was only superstition. Thomas of Aldon-, a Kentish man, cursed him on the spot, and the people of London imagined St. Thomas was avenged eleven years later when the Primate was beheaded by the Kentish rebels under \Vat Tyler. After the Great Rebellion in Kent, 1381, among the entries on the Patent Roll of Commissioners was Robert de Bosco. After the death of Wat Tyler and the troubles in Kent, the King formally annulled the letters patent granted for the relief of tenements · from their accustomed services, alleging that it was not befitting his royal dignity to keep his word in such a case. These steps were supported by the Crown, but some of the insurgents attempted 18 FREDVILLE, 1838 CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL GOODNESTONE CHURCH

ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH, CANTERBURY, 1815 HOSPITAL CHURCH, HARBLEDOWN, 1815 ST. ALBANS COURT

THE DEANERY, CANTERBURY to resist by calling on the Bailiffs of Canterbury to make a levy of the community of the city to oppose the lords and justices who were assigned to keep the peace in Kent. Henry VIII, attended by Thomas Boys of Fredville, gentleman-at-arms, received Emperor Charles V at Canterbury immediately before the meeting of the Cloth of Gold, when Cardinal Wolsey was present. In 1535 began the suppression of the monasteries, and in 1538 Henry VIII issued a summons to '' thee Thomas Becket Sometime Archbishop of Canterbury," charging him with treason, contumacy and rebellion. It was read before the shrine, 30 days being allowed for his reappearance ; but as he failed to appear, he was sentenced to be publicly burned, the offerings of countless value being forfeited to the Crown, and the shrine absolutely destroyed. Before leaving the Cathedral one must not forget to see St. Nicholas's or the Warriors' Chapel. Sir John Boys' monument, first placed here, was later moved to the nave. In the chapel are the colours of the Buffs, the Kentish regiment which enjoys the unique privilege of marching through the streets of London with fixed bayonets. There were altogether 16 Boys children baptized in the Cathedral ; and nine of the family found within its walls their last resting place. On the choir stalls of oak are richly carved animals, looking almost human ; while one grand old carved owl with his ruffled features looks exactly like Queen Elizabeth with her lace collar and her eyes fixed on the occupier of the stall. The Deanery has little altered. Its large bright panelled rooms, its collection of successive Deans' portraits, its huge fires, all add to the warm welcome of its owners. In the garden is an old mulberry tree planted about the same time as that in the memorial garden (1625), from which a quantity of fruit is still obtained, and which makes such delicious tarts that it is a pity the fruit is not more cultivated. The War Memorial, the chapel of silent prayer in the old watch tower, is one of which the inhabitants can be justly proud, and one which those who lost their lives would strongly approve. The Cathedral Library and the Beany Institute have and will prove the greatest assistance to the town, for the managers in charge are ever ready to help those who want to study. Cardinal Pole transferred the King's School to its present site, the present building replacing the older ones in 186 5.

B CHAPTER II

'' BONNYNGTON ,,

Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country-seat. Across its antique portico Tall poplar trees their shadows throw ; And from its station in the hall An ancient timepiece says to all,- '' Forever-never! Never-forever!,, Halfway up the stairs it stands, And points and beckons with its hands From its case of massive oak, Like a monk who, under his cloak, Crosses himself, and sighs, alas! With sorrowful voice to all who pass- " Forever-never! Never-forever l '' By day its voice is low and light ; But in the silent dead of night, Distinct as a passing footstep's fall, It echoes along the vacant hall, Along the ceiling, along the floor, And seems to say at each chamber door­ " Forever-never! Never-forever!" The Old Clock on the Stairs. ONNYNGTON was in early days the property and residence of a family of the same name, who appear to have possessed Bit as late as the latter end of the reign of King Edward I. Among the authentic notes traced from Bonnyngton was one dated 20th Jan. 1207, when in a recognizance of Great Assize Filloil acknowledges to Roger de Langford half a knight's fee in Bonnington to him and his heirs to hold of Baldwin and his heirs by the service of half a knight's fee. In July 1228 a gift was made by Roger de Bosco of land called Rogeresbeche, also a mill and land with the homage and service of Richard de Bosco and his heirs ; in the same year deeds were made relating to Rogerus, William, and Johannes de Bosco. 1237. Peter de Bending grants the manor of Little Chart, for 200 marks to release him from his debts to the Jews. Signed 20 THE CRUSAD.ERS H. I. Jstesibus and by Johannes and Richard de Bosco of Bonnyng­ ton (21 Henry III). 1243. A record is given of a pass for safe conduct to .Master Bernard de Bosco into St. Lawrence, to come to the King's army to speak with G., Countess of Bayarre. 1247. Pardon granted at the instance of the Abbot of West­ minster to Henry de Bosco, for the death of Agnes del Brok, with the usual conditions.

One branch of the descendants of William de Bois and Maude of Bonnyngton (1216) called themselves Wood, and there is every reason to believe the Cornish family of Boys also descended from this branch, as they use the same arms as the Woods, although they now spell their name Boyce. (J.B.) The representative of the chief family, by name Sir John Wood, called himself of Bonnyngton. He was created baronet and bore for arms Az. an oak tree, growing out of a mount in base p.p.a. between two crosses crosslets fitchee, on the last being part of the arms of Tullocky of Bonnyngton, which the Woods bore in commemoration of the heiress with whom these came into the family. The Wood baronetcy expired 1666. (J.B.) Dugdale states Galfrid Boys the Crusader was the ancestor of several families of the name of Wood. ARMS OF GALFRID Is it not possible that " the good knight DE BOYS Brian de Bois-Guilbert, commander of the valiant and venerable Order of Knights Templars," mentioned by Scott in Ivanhoe, was a relation of Galfrid de Boys? The legend says the brave, proud knight died from the violence of his passion in an encounter with Ivanhoe over Rebecca, the beautiful daughter of the Jew Isaac. In preparing for knighthood a youth of seven years was taken into a large household and made a page. At the age of 15 he was clothed in white vestments, received his Holy Communion in the church, knighted and given his sword. The ancient \Varriors had painted devices on their shields, their banners and arms, colours and emblems by which they might be distinguished at a distance. The symbols were essentially personal and peculiar to the indi­ viduals ,vho bore them. Many of these young knights were only too anxious to join the third Crusade under Richard Creur de Lion, the Christian king ,vho chose the Cross for his sign, with the B2 21 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS words " By this sign conquer," and little solicitation was required to raise the money necessary to assume the Cross and to take to Palestine a noble army in hopes of taking the Holy City from the Infidels. He set sail I I 91, in time to press vigorously the siege of Acre. Unfortunately this victory was stained by a bloody tragedy in which Richard was the principal actor, for on some misunder­ standing with Saladin concerning the ransom of some prisoners he ordered 2,000 men to be massacred in sight of the two armies. It took this army five days to travel to Cresarea, a distance of 36 miles, fighting every yard of the way. The heat was intolerable; the knights' heavy armour added to their general discomfort, and each precipice and crag they passed seemed alive with Mussul­ man archers. Thus hundreds of Christians fell and upwards of 400 horsemen ,vere slain. The constant attacks of the Saracen cavalry so irritated the Templars that they charged into the Moslems without orders. In November Richard led his army towards the Holy City, but the want of supplies farced the dejected Crusaders to retreat to Jaffa for the winter, but here the fortifications were already in ruins. At the same time Galfrid de Boys, or Bosco, was engaged in action at Joppa, and he bore the arms of the Boys CRUSADERS' of Elmham. The Crusaders were so hotly besieged CROSS by an overwhelming force of Infidels, who had threatened to slaughter all the Christians unless they surrendered the town within 36 hours, that a message was sent to Richard at Acre to hasten to their assistance. Help arrived with the King a few hours before the specified time was up, and the Infidels were put to flight. The hymn of the " Holy War " was written by a monk-Andrew, Archbishop of Crete.

" Christian, dost thou see them on the holy ground, How the powers of darkness compass thee around ? Christian, up and smite them, counting gain but loss ; Smite them by the merit of the Holy Cross."

These men preferred glory to either pleasure or safety, and their descendants may esteem their gallant ancestors enough to vie with them in honourable endeavours and be for ever zealous defenders of the true faith. Let one imagine the different aspect of the last Crusade, under General Allenby. How many of the third Crusaders' descendants were there? Their hardships were bad enough, but picture it with the slow, tedious travelling across a continent about I 190, when illness disappointed hopes of fulfilling 22 THE WINGHAM LEGENDS vows, and the army had to return to England, 1192, without ever having taken the Holy City from the Infidels. Gough mentions an effigy (cross-legged) of a Sir Robe~ de Boys who joined the third Crusade and was of the Bonnyngton branch. The arms in the engraving were found in Calig. a 18, Cott. I., the roll of Sir H. Nicolas, and are given in preference to those generally assigned to the family of Boys-Ar. two bars gu. a canton gu. ( vide MS. 1120 Ashmole). During the infatuation of the Crusades the soldiers who returned from Holy Wars frequently brought a sacred palm staff of the growth of Palestine, and bore it as a token that they had performed their vows and had been sprinkled with holy water before the altar, and from this they were called " Palmers." In 1325 the Austin Friars obtained a house and its appurtenances in the parish of St. George from Thomas Bonington, and speedily built their own church and chapel at Wingham. Here was buried the last John Boys of Betzhanger. Near here lived Sir Edward Palmer, who married a sister of Sir Richard Clement, and by her had three sons, born on three Sundays in succession, who all lived to be eminent in their generation. In 1352 the widow of the Earl of Kent, who had become a veiled nun, forsook her vows and secretly married Sir Eustace d'Au Erichecourt in the house of one of the canons at Wingham. Such violation roused the anger of the Church, and the unfortunate pair were caught and both compelled to undergo terrible penance for the rest of their lives. It is said the screams of the bride were distinctly heard on a certain night every year. Let us hope they did not disturb the peace of Bonnyng­ ton. John de Boys of Essex held in 1406 half a fee under Lord Fitz­ Walter. In 1414 Nicholas Boys of Bonyngtone, Tavener, became a freeman of the city of Canterbury, and Richard Boys, Prior of Canterbury, received a pension per ann. viij Ii. There are several interesting stories told of some of the old families. For instance, Margaret of Camois Court, about 1300, growing tired of her husband, departed from him and lived adul­ terously with Sir Wm. Painsell. Her husband accepted the position in a practical manner by giving her over by deed with all her goods and chattels ; this charter was signed by eight witnesses, and is still preserved. It was considered quite valid, and such sales were fairly numerous even during the eighteenth century. Sometimes a halter was put round the wife's neck, and the market price varied from £40 and a supper to a quartern of gin and a bull pup. In 1820 a decent-looking man brought his wife to the cattle market at Canterbury, hired a pen, and sold her to a townsman for 5s.; 23 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS while as recently as 1881 a Sheffield artisan disposed of his help­ mate for a quart of beer. In the early days marriages were often arranged by the aristocracy for their children before they were out of the nursery. Despenser, created Earl of Gloucester, in honour of his descent from the De Clares, in 1399 was degraded from his earldom, as it was believed he was plotting against the King, and he was beheaded. His son Richard ( died 1414) married Lady Elizabeth Neville ; he died aged 14 years, leaving his wife with a daughter born seven months after his death. In 1450 Thomas Boys lived at Bonnyngton House. He purchased Fredville in the adjoining parish of Nonington, and removed there, but returned to his former home, where he died 1479, leaving by will: " To my eldest son I give Fredville and to Thomas I give Bonnyngton, giving the fairest estate to the former and the ancient seat to the latter. My wish to be buried in the churchyard 10 feet from the south door. High Alter for tithes forgotten 3-4d.; to the parish-clerk 16d. To buy an Antiphoner for the church 10 mares [£6 13s. 4d.]; to buy a Bell for the Church 12 mares [£8], if it be bought within a year after my death, or else not [sic]. To the glazing of the steeple window and for a EARLY CREST OF censer of laton with the ship 40s. A priest BOYS sing for my soul, parents, Joan, Agnes and Edith my wives. " To the Light of our Lady in the church 2s. ; Light of Bonnington, 8 bushels of barley, and of St. Nicholas, St. John Baptist, St. Edmund, 12d. each; Light of Offington 6d., of Rolling 6d. " Edith my wife, £5 and 2 kine. Thomas Butt 20s., and to Alice my daughter, his wife, 40s., and to their three children 10s. " Son William a mazer cup, 6 silver spoons, and a harnessed girdle, to his wife Isabel 6-8d., and to each of their children 6-8d. "Exors.-Son Wm. and Robert Gerves. Upon my grave a stone the value of £3, and 3½ feet high from the ground.* John, the son of William my son, £4, to find him to school, and to Thomas, son of Wm., the same. " Son Wm. have all my lands and tenements, and to his heirs, etc., for ever, allowing Edith my wife to occupy the chambers beside the high doys [sic] both above and beneath, where I now dwell, with her ease in part of the kitchen, bake-house, and well, also paying to Edith 40s. yearly, a seame of wheat and of barley."

• Making sure no one should walk on his grave. THE BLASPHEMER'S WARNING (Canterbury Probate Office. Book Wingham. Probate 3 March 1479-80.) Bonnyngton is now a good farmhouse, although it is con­ sidered to be much smaller than years ago. If there is any truth in ''The Blasphemer's Warning,'' in Ingoldsby Legends, the house was allowed to fall into decay, but as the walls are 4 feet thick, of solid masonry, and the beams about 2 feet square, it certainly did not all quite fall down.

" That fair Edith Ingoldsby, she whom they all The Rosebud of Tappington ceased not to call, Was going to say,' Honour, love and obey,' To Sir Alured Denne, Knight, of Bonnington Hall,* That all other suitors were left in the lurch, And the parties had even been " out-asked " in Church. In Kent, we are told, There was seated of old, A handsome young gentleman, courteous and bold, He'd an oaken strong-box, well replenished \\'ith gold, With broad lands, pasture, arable, woodland, and wold, Not an acre of which had been mortgaged or sold ; He'd a Pleasaunce and Hall passing fair to behold, He had beeves in the byre, he had flocks in the fold, And was somewhere about five-and-twenty years old. Merrily, merrily sounds the horn, And cheerily ring the bells ; For the race is run, the goal is won, The little lost mutton is happily found, The Lady of Bonnington's safe and sound In the Hall where her new Lord dwells ! ''

• Was the descendant of this knight buried at Tollesbury in the church of the little fishing village noted for oysters, next to Tolleshunt D'Arey ? On the font of that church is inscribed " Good people all I pray take care, That in ye Church you do not swear, As this man did."

The church register states Aug. 30, 1718 :- " Elizabeth d. of Robert and Eliza Wood being the first childe who was baptised in the new Font which was bought out of five pounds by John Norman, who some few months before came drunk into the church and cursed and talked loud in the time of Divine Service, to prevent his being prosecuted for which he paid by agreement the above said £5. Note that the wise rhymes on the font were put there by the sole order of Robert Joyce the churchwarden." UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS [The Knight's language was so bad in church that " the Imp " prophesied if such language was used again, terrible trouble would follow.]

" Then oh ! what a volley ! a great many heard What flow'd from his lips, and 'twere really absurd To suppose that each man was not shock'd by each word. A great many heard, too, with mixed fear and wonder, The terrible crash of the terrible thunder, That broke as if bursting the building asunder ; But very few heard, although every one might, The short, half-stifled shriek from the chair on the right, Where the Lady of Bonnington sat by her knight ; In the large ogive window that lighted the hall A small stony Saint in a small stony pall, With a small stony mitre, and small stony crosier, And small stony toes that owed nought to the hosier, Beckoned stonily downward to someone below, As Merryman says, ' for to come for to go ! ' While everyone smelt a delicious perfume That seemed to pervade every part of the room ! Fair Edith Denne-the bonne et belle then, Never again was beheld among men! But there was the fauteuil on which she was placed, And there was the girdle that graced her small waist, And there was her stomacher, brilliant with gems, And the mantle she wore, edged with lace at the hems, Her rich brocade gown sat upright in its place, And her wimple was there-but where-where was her face ? 'Twas gone with her body-and nobody knows, Nor could anyone present as much as suppose,. How the Lady contrived to slip out of her clothes ! . . . Alas for the glories of Bonnington Hall ! Alas for its splendour ! Alas for its fall ! Long years have gone by since the trav'ller might spy Any decentish house in the parish at all. For very soon after the awful event I've related 'twas said through all that part of Kent That the maids of a morning, when putting the chairs And the tables to rights, would oft pop unawares In one of the parlours, or galleries, or stairs On a tall female figure, or find her, far horrider, Slowly o' nights promenading the corridor; But whatever the hour, or wherever the place, No one could ever get sight of her face! 26 FEATHER WORK PAINTING Nor could they perceive any arm in her sleeve, While her legs and her feet, too, seem'd mere ' make believe,' . For she glided along with that shadow-like motion Which gives one the notion Of clouds on a zephyr or ships on the ocean, And though of her gown they could hear the silk rustle, They saw but that side on't ornee with the bustle. The servants, of course, though the house they were born in, Soon ' wanted to better themselves,' and gave warning. While even the new Knight grew tired of a guest Who would not let himself or his family rest ; So he pack'd up his all, and made a bare wall Of each well-furnished room in his ancestors' Hall, Then left the old mansion to stand or to fall, Having previously barr'd up the windows and gates, To avoid paying cesses and taxes and rates, And settled on one of his other estates, Where he built a new mansion, and called it Denne* Hill, And there his descendants reside, I think, still. Poor Bonnington, empty, or left, at the most, In the joint occupation of rooks and a Ghost, Soon went to decay, and moulder' d away, But whether it dropp'd down at last I can't say, Or whether the jackdaws produced, by degrees, a Spontaneous combustion like that one at Pisa Some cent'ries ago, I'm sure I don't know. But you can't find a vestige now ever so tiny, ' Perierunt,' as some one says,' etiam ruine."'

Thanks are due to the modern builder who, when renovating the house in recent years, found (but again covered up with canvas) " Feather Work" on the wall of the principal bedroom. Who knows, the Boys may again inherit their ancestors' home and see this ancient handiwork ? Many now would be pleased to have a peep behind the canvas. Next to the house is the old barn, an excellent piece of architecture, which is now converted into cottages ; the chimneys have been added into the roof, in which the beams were found unplaned and just lying across from wall to wall. The fallowing extracts are from the wills of members of the Bonnington family. William Boys. "Edward to suffer his mother and Aunt Margret to have their dwelling which they have in the mansion of Fredville with * Probably " Denton." 27 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS becoming and going into the chambers commonly called N urssery and the chambers over the neithersaid of the Hall and the chambers over the buttery." "Ed,vard my elder to have all lands, tenenments, etc., as were gotten to me and my eldest according to a pair of indentures* between my father and Sir Edward Ringley at the time of my marriage, and also to allow his Mother to have going to pasture in Fredfield and Froghaven, 2 kind, 2 geilding and 2 loads of wood, and if his Mother die first of Aunt Margaret she to have meat and drink during her life." " Four Pounds to find him to school and

~ ~;~~~ii~~~~~~~ "

- CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS, GOODNESTONE

Thomas and John." "Thomas son of Thomas to set a 1narble stone for me and my wife to be laid upon my grave within my 12 montlis day." -1507. William son of William. "To be buried in the Church before the alter of St. Nicolas and St. Catherine. A priest to sing in the Church upon the alter of St. Nicolas and St. Catherine for t,vo years for my soul, parents, Thomas a Deele and Alice _ his wife. Six pounds to be paid to each daughter to buy a stone to • Two documents ,vere written on parchment and cut in two by hand ; in this case forgery was impossible. 28 WILLIAM AND ISABELLA, THEIR CHILDREN, AND COAT OF ARMS

EXTRACTS FROM BONNINGTON WILLS be laid upon my grave. 53 and 4 pence. My wife Isabella to have the upper end of the Hall that I dwell in, with free coming and going into the Hall, kitchen, bakehouse, the well and everything necessary for her behoof during her life, and that Thomas give his mother all necessary wood and 40s. yearly." Isabel, wife of Wm. Boys, died 26 Sept. 1517. Goneston (sic), I 507. " Two Tapers of 3 lbs. each to burn every day at my grave, during my years mind, also a lamp burn every Sunday before the Rood. £6 13s. 4d. to the Priest." "To my grandchild Wm's son a silver saltcellar and cupboard, a silver goblet, the best feather bed and a transer [bolster]. Two silver spoons to Herry Boys; and a gold ring and to his wife my best girdle." 1558. Vincent, grandson of Thomas. " My body to the earth and on the day of my burial 20s. to the poor people instead of the Church. My son John to receive 6 silver spoons and knopps, also hangings and cupboard, 12 joined stools, 2 chairs, 6 carpets, cushions, 2 window cushions of green damask being the furniture of my parlour, one trusting bed." "My daughters each to have £15 when 2_1 or on marriage, but if my daughters be not ruled by my wife and my brother Morris Honeywood in their marriage, they to take no benifit.'' Vincent's wife, Mary Honeywood, da. and coheiress of John Honeywood, Esquire, of Petland Charing, was left living at her husband's death -with three sons and four daughters. She re­ married Edward Gay and died March 1599. Years later another Mary Honeywood, falling into a low, de­ sponding state of health, became impressed with the idea she should be damned, and exclaiming in a paroxysm of the malady " I shall be lost as surely as that glass is broken/' she flung the glass twice with great violence on a marble slab. But she was surprised to see the glass rebound each time unbroken. The story adds that the circumstances brought a complete cure and she quite recovered, and at her death in 1620, aged 93 years, she left 367 lawful descen­ dants. From the descendants of John Boys of Fredville sprang the branches of Fredville, Hoad, Betzhanger, Challock, Deal, Sandwich, St. Gregories, Denton, and Surrey ; and from Thomas Boys of Bonnington sprang the branches of Bonnyngton, Mersham, Willsborough, Sevington, and the Betzhanger Tenants. The family legend has been proved three times at least-'' Three branches will die out with 5 daughters each.'' Bonnington forms part of the Goodnestone estate, with the Pilgrims' Way passing through it. 1532. In the Appendix, translated from Latin records in the Chapter House at Westminster, Mich. Term, 23 Henry VIII, Kent. Sir Wm. Hawke, Walter Hendle ... John Boys by Thos. Scotte 29 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS their Attorney, demand against Wm. Boys, Robert Boys and Richard Boys 4 messurages, 4 gardens, one pigeon house, 200 acres of land, 30 acres of pasture and one acre of wood with the appurtenances in Goodnestone. Thos. Chapman, Voucher. 1532. In the Common Pleas. John Boys of Kent in person demands against Robert Boys one messuage, one garden, 200 acres of land, 100 acres of pasture and 10 acres of wood and decem solidet ,vith appurts in Adesham Barhem and Well. Thos. Chapman, Voucher. It is difficult to trace exactly to ,vhich branch of the family all these different members belong, but it is easily ascertained that things ,vere not always smooth in the family. In the Church of the Holy Cross lie the ancestors of both the Bridges and Boys, and in the north aisle, belonging to the Bonnyngton estate, are found t,velve beautiful brasses, the earliest portraiture of the Boys, giving excellent likenesses and a clear idea of the cos­ tumes of that period. 1. Representation of the Holy Trinity. 2. Wm. and Isabella his wife (1507) and children. 3. " Here lyeth Vincent who died the first day of October in the year of our Lord God 1558 who had to wife Lady Mary the daughter of John Honeywood Esquire, left her living with three sons and four daughters which Mary died - day of-." THE HOLY TRINITY 4. The Boys ancient arms ; the crest is a chevron between three hawks' heads, for Honeywood. On the gravestone of Sir John Boys, Knight, are the present arms with addition of a cro,vn imperial or in a canton az., and the inscription :- " Underneath rests Sir John Boys late of Bonnington Kt ,vhose military praises will flourish in our annalls as laurels, and palms to overspread his grave. Duncannon in Ireland may remain a solemn mourner of his funeral and Donnington Castle in England a noble monument to his fame. The former for the loose of its · expert governer ye latter for the honour of its gallent defender. To crown such eminent loyality and valour ye King royally added to his ancient scutchon a crown. Leaving no other heirs male 30. VINCENT AND LADY MARY BOYS

GOODNESTONE CHURCH SYMBOLS than manly deeds to keep his name, his inheritance went to his three daughters Jane, Lucy, Anne. In his 58th year being dis­ charged from this militant state below, he was entertained, as we hope, in that triumphant state above. Oct. 8, 1664." Sir John died whilst Governor of Duncannon in Ireland. On the squadril cut in stone is an inscription on the dexter side of the west door of the tower : " Orate p. T. boye a dnitor istio (Orate pro T. Boyse adjutore utius operis)." On one side a shield of arms on a cross, the other a saltier ; and at the top three more shields. Over a window on the south side of the church " Wyllyam Boyys," and at each corner are carved singular emblematical figures of a sow with a litter of pigs, and an ape sitting upright, a chain round its neck, and fastened to a rock behind, an infant in swaddling clothes in its lap. One account says the symbolical carving of

SYMBOLICAL CARVINGS the sow and litter was used as a homely type of the Church nourishing her young ; whilst the ape and the child is an emblem of lust and wickedness. The other legend says an old woman had no money to help to build the church, so she brought one of her pig's litter to be sold. Unfortunately, time has destroyed the head of the ape, which is now missing. In the churchyard is a flat stone to Thomas and Edith Boys of Bonnyngton,. . 1479, but the brasses which were there in 1800 are now m1ss1ng. Now one must come to the hero of the Boys family, and the last male to live in the ancestral home.

C 31 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS

SIR JOHN BOYS OF DONNINGTON CASTLE He was born 1607, the eldest son of Edward Boys of Bonnyngton and Jane, da. of Ed. Saunders of Northborne, and was baptized at Chillenden 5th April. The first account of him was recorded in the Kal. State Paper, I 629-3 I, p. 367, and comes as a surprise to many: '' Verdict of a coroner's inquest held 15th May 1628, on the body of Thos. Alcock of the city of Canterbury, killed by John Boys, by a blo1.v on the head ,vith a fire pan. 28th Oct. 1630. Edward Boys of Bonnyngton, in Kent, petitioned the King, that his son and heir John Boys being at Canterbury one Tho. Alcock ' an infirm person, resorting ordinarily to strangers company ' most uncivilly proved him w. such insufferable language, as young men who have seen the wars can very hardly digest and wh. incited the petitioner's son, to give him a blov1 on the head, fr. wh. he died, the coroner's jury found his son guilty of manslaughter and he prays for his mercy. "Pardon granted 15th Nov. 1630." _ In 1645 Prince Rupert's proverbial rashness was fatal to the Royal cause at Marston Moor, and his surrender of Bristol after a feeble resistance estranged him from the King. But he was dis­ tinguished for his scientific attainments, espe~ially in chemistry, and is said to have invented mezzotint engravings, doing much work in his quiet tin1es. In 1648 he effected a landing at Deal, with a considerable fleet, but, being discovered, 300 musqueteers suddenly appeared. Major Husband, unwilling to attack in the marshes, feigned a retreat, and they all mounted to higher ground. The Prince's party fled in disorder ; 200 men were slain, and among the prisoners taken were Captain Boys, who was shot in the belly, pricked in the neck, and wounded in the head with the butt end of a musket, but fortunately his ,vounds did not cause death. During the Civil War between Charles I and the Parliament there was a strong feeling of loyalty in Kent, which found expression in the well­ known Royalist rising in 1648. Braybrooke notes Sir John Boys as a" Gentleman of the Privy Chamber," and Mr. Boys, writing years afterwards, declares that the inner historj of those times and the Restoration is yet to be written. He writes of Grenville's and Monk's correspondence with the King, which may have been an "outward and visible form " and the more personal correspondence with Montagu more vital than has appeared. It is notable that at least three Kentish titles spring from the Restoration-Sandwich, Thanet, and Romney. The Mr. Norwood associated with Boys was, as Lord Braybrooke conjectures, Richard Nor,vood of Dane Court, Thanet, but he was not, as B. further suspects, the Norwood who 32 I ~.:·-.:.-...... ::---. •i '/1,/IS r:.-IS77J:,; ,:,u✓ ,.,(.,./..,It (v_/11,0,uit ,k. IUUY'd/7/.;i;,.•~,;1'''"'3/!➔ f ,,u,,,,,,.,/,t,-..1,\r ✓A.r /f.,1,J,-.11~·•· ~ d·1,> .. 1~·v i h ,u,1 ,.,. //,,. 1,"r,,,,..,1..1 ! ,, ~.,.,;_ ,,,H,I ,rt.•.,,~,. /,,-,,-,,!IJ '. r.lvJN.:r/d,..t~~ /1.1·r:?l,:1·1,: ✓/,,,-~ '(uNt. !'f"/ lt,/;fr:, M111,/4.'/.:,_c_~""I' 1•1:..t;._,,.rt.1£~uir.•1 ,l't'c.-fc>..J ,.-IIU-, 41111 :k:~.. ,,,.r, ...'ht l~#''l,;,,'-"' .-, ~~~'Nm,;,,/. ~";•,_:,,u/q \1' ".t/:h.-/c:,•,· N·,,~ or- ;, ''(~~.,::.... ~•/',/",u,./~ .. 7':·lN(J r.• 1/.~!..1•.;✓.//!1' ;f,~ ?r./2: ~;-_;,,r,,;;1:1,,t,-,..,,;,':,.rt,,/'! ✓ tA,· ti ~ 'L,..,n//A.r'l\'rl: .. 11«,.u.W/',:-u.t/:,,.'fl~l&: f.>t't.4 ,,,NL- -'/hrt~'m lil'~J. d ,"I{/ ;,tJ, n·.,.../111:·k rr: ~•lllh~.-~•• ~-.~s:6ptfo •/.'j','r'•/4,.,/.,, •~,.,,ttn,•/. JN'Otrt ,.,_.,,•r,.•l'-J ~f~/.1,·/VJ _vi :J~t">. !i"e1rll,u1rnd, • ~,,....,..,. ______~-~ ~-.: r.A.•h.A, .✓.•,;..-. .-.~ .;.,.<,,,." .1;,1ic..

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DONNINGTON CASTLE, 1732

SIR JOHN BOYS OF DONNINGTON CASTLE BORN 1607

SIR JOHN BOYS OF DONNINGTON was governor of Dunkirk. Richard was an Esquire of the Body at Charles II's coronation, and there is a suspicion that the esquire's helmet ,vhich was hanging over the tomb of his father, ·Manasseh Norwood, in St. Peter's, Thanet, may be Richard's ceremonial headpiece. (W.B.) John Boys became prominent at the battle of Newbury, while he was governor of Donnington Fortress, which was in the Royalists' hands. It was an important position, as it commanded the road from Oxford to Newbury on the Great Bath Road. This castle was said to have been owned by Chaucer, who ,vas elected knight of the shire of Kent in the Parliament of October 1386. Donnington Castle was first attacked by a Parliamentary army consisting of 3,000-4,000 horse and foot, and after the capture of a barn at the foot of the hill the garrison was summoned to surrender, 29 July 1644. " One of the precious Levites is Master Fogge, whom the Rebels appointed their enquirer at the siege of the Castle in Berkshire, where Fogge and his fellows prospered so well that the members think not fitting to sense their thanks. It is true that at the Rebels first appearance before the Castle, they thought to have it instantly and therefore Colonel Horton, who writes himseif Adjutant General to Major General Browne, sent for it, hastily in these lines :- " ' To the Governor of Donnington Castle. ''' Sir, I demand the castle now in your possession for the use of the King, and Parliament, which if you deny-at your perill-. Yours Jeremiah Horton.'" But the castle ,vas held by brave men, and as brave a leader as ever wore King's uniform, Captain Boys, who was a " thorn in the flesh to Cromwell." He skilfully, bravely, and persistently main­ tained his trust, and in spite of the loss of men, falling masonry, battering of \Valls by the Ironsides, he refused to surrender the castle. His reply: " Sir, I am instructed by His Majesty's express com­ mands, and have not yet learned to obey any other than my soverign. To spare blood, do as you please, but myself and those who are with me are fully resolved to venture ours in maintaining what we are intrusted with, which is the ans\ver of John Boys, Don­ ington Castle. July 30, 1644." The King ,vas unable to send help and the siege continued. In answer to another message to surrender this note went to the enemy: '' Sir, neither your new addition of forces, nor your high threatening language shall deter me or the rest of these gallant men with me from our loyalty to our Soverign ; but we do resolve to maintain this place to the uttermost of our powers, and for the matter of quarter yours may expect the like on Wednesday, or sooner if you please.-This is the answer of, c2 33 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Sir, your servant John Boys." He added that even if Cromwell left no stone upon another, he was not bound to repair it, but, how­ ever, would, by God's help, keep the ground afterwards. The final siege came in 1645. Parliament decided the castle must be reduced, and the attack became so fierce that John Boys sent a message to the King, who replied he must surrender on the best terms possible. Extremely honourable terms were drawn up and the garrison marched out with all the honours of war, flags flying, drums beating, their horses and arms, matches lighted, bullets in mouth and bandoliers filled ,vith powder! To their homes they might go and live in peace if they never took up arms again against Parliament. Colonel Sir John Boys was then knighted for his services at the castle by the King. A resolution was put in the House of Com­ mons at the same time to banish him as one of the seven Royalists who had been in arms against Parliament since 1st January 1647-8, but it was negatived. He received the office of Receiver of Customs at Dover from Charles II, but his lands were seques­ tered amongst other loyalists, and he paid a fine of £312 10s. Sir John married Lucy Denne, 1633, by whom he had five daughters; secondly he married, 1650, Ann, daughter of Sir William Brock­ man, Kt., of Kent, and in 1653 Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Fotherby, widow of Sir Nathaniel Finch, but he had no further issue. His portrait was said to have been painted by Van Dyck in full military uniform, and was exhibited at the South Kensington Exhibition, 1866. Another of his portraits is in the collection of the late W. 0. Hammond, Esq., of St. Alban's Court, whose family have been seated there ever since the reign of Henry VII, an ancestor having married Elizabeth Boys Beauvoir, the grand­ daughter of Colonel Boys, the last of the Roath Court branch. This portrait was copied for The Second Battle of Newbury by Walter Money, from an engraving by Stow. Another portrait, belonging to Captain Brydges, was for some time at Lee Priory. A story of his life and exploits was written in verse by Colonel Colomb, and is still a cherished family possession. Sir John leaving no heir except his daughters, they sold the old family seat in 1666 to William Broom, Esq., of Farnborough, who in 1710 sold it to Brook Bridges, Esq. Berry states "Good­ nestone House belonged to the respectable family of Bridges for several generations, and their descendants the FitzWalters are the present possessors of it."

It is an historical fact that a violent tempest occurred immediately subsequent to the death or burial of Cromwell, which occasioned many disputes between his partisans and the Cavaliers. Both inter- 34 EXTRACTS FROM PEPYS'S DIARY preted the circumstance as Divine interposition, but whether as approbation or condemnation we leave to the casuists of that age to decide. (Byron.) · After Cromwell's death Sir John Boys was employed in the negotiations for the return of Charles II. From Samuel Pepys' Diary, who lived 1633-1703, is copied the following extract:- " April 21st, 1660. The day dined Sir John Boys and some other gentlemen formerly great cavaliers, and among the rest a Mr. Norwood, for when my Lord give a convoy to carry him to the Brill, but he is certainly going to the King . . . my Lord do show them and that sort of people great civility." " May 3rd. And I found by this letters, as also my Lord told me too, that there had been many letters passed between them for a great ,vhile, and I perceive unknown to Monk, and among the rest that carried these letters Sir John Boys is one, and Mr. Norwood which had a ship to carry him over the other day, when my Lord would not have me put down his name in the book." May 13th. On board ship from the Downs to The Hague-" To the quarter deck, at which the taylors and painters were at work, cutting out some pieces of yellow cloth in the fashion of a crown and C.R. and put it upon a firm sheet and that into the flag instead of the State arms, which after dinner was finished and set up. This mom Sir John Boys and Captain Isham met us in the Nonsuch, the first of whom, after a word or two with my Lord, went forward, the other stayed.'' Pepys' Diary, Aug. 20th, 1664. " I walked to Cheapside to see the effect of a fire there this morning since four o'clock : which I find in the house of Mr. Bois, that married Dr. Fuller's niece, who are both out of town. It began in the house and hath burned much and many houses-backwards though none forward ; and that in the great uniform full of buildings in the middle of Cheap­ side. I am very sorry for them, for the Doctor's sake."

35 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS

LETTER TO SOME PERSON UNKNOWN CON­ CERNING THE POEM" DONNINGTON CASTLE."

At r Signe of r Blew Boare in Ivy Lane Oct. 23rd 1670. Sir I dewly reca ye Bokes & hastene to inform you tht ye Poem shall be printed in the newest & beste manner 0 either in two or in one Volume Qt , another pocket edition ( with gilte leves) in twelves presentlie f ollowinge. But Sir yr tearness under favour are high, and I pray you to remember ho,v bad things be in ye Cittie (God knoweth when they shall mende). Furthermore I beg leave to tell you tht ~-ye s

" DONNINGTON CASTLE" A SHORTENED ACCOUNT FROM PROSE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY COLONEL RICHARD LOVELACE, 1648 Between the years 1625-1640 England had enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity. King Charles I, whose taste and know­ ledge of high art in all its branches is well known, besides boasting there was scarce any mechanical trade that he could not make a livelihood by working at, was also a composer of songs and anthems. Carol singing at this period was very general, while in Charles II's reign solo singing became general. The pavan and cinque-pace dances of Queen Elizabeth's time were still in favour in the country gentry's houses, who did not always adopt the latest fashions of Whitehall. In December, 1634, a merry party had assembled for the Christ­ mastide festivities in the old Kentish house known as Barham Court, ,vhich was then owned by Sir John Fotherby. Every,vhere "',.as decorated with garlands of holly, and the huge Yuletide log hissed on the sea-coal fire. The Christmas feast was ready, a huge boar's head from the owner's farm, and mince pies moulded into shapes representing cradles. The young gallants were there in their grey doublets, silken hose, and with ribbon rosettes on their buff-coloured shoes. 'fhe ladies were ready with strings of pearls in their hair, after the fashion of the period, and long ropes of pearls round their necks, their long hair flowing over their shoulders, caught up occasionally by a big rosette. -37 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Elizabeth, the lovely daughter of the house, recognised as a Society beauty, with her dark brown hair and exquisite eyes, seemed restless and eager. She had been betrothed to Sir Nathaniel Finch, who was just expected back from Spain, but she had bestowed her affections on another lover, who was also expected.

" Boys was handsome, brave and young, Stout and active, too, was he ; If by men his praise was sung, For a bearing bold and free. That he had a winning tongue, Ladies fair did all agree. Honest heart and open hand Love and friendship will command. Ready still the poor to aid, And to gen'rous deeds inclined, Seldom by self-int'rest sway'd, Slow to anger-courteous-kind. Full of pity was his heart, With the weaker taking part. If depress'd by fortune,s frown Not for long was he cast down. For a spirit gay he had Banishing reflection sad. Bright his smile and loud his laugh, Smart he was at repartee, Song could sing, and health could quaff, And excelled in mimicry ; Skilled in manly exercises, He was (and description here Ends in phrase that all comprises) An accomplished Cavalier ! Arms his trade-he followed Mars­ And in the Low Country wars Five years' service he had done And had fame and credit won."

At length the two last guests arrived. Master Boys proceeded straight to Elizabeth, telling her that on nearing Horsemonden Wood he had heard cries of distress from a lady, and had found the lady and her father surrounded by a group of marauding knaves. Having helped to ward off the men he had gone a little out of his way to see the lady (called Lucy) and her father safely on to their homestead. Sir Nathaniel Finch was a courtly knight and soon found the 38 MASTER JOHN BOYS affections of his love had been transferred to the younger man. But Sir John was furious and rushed to his daughter saying :

" I will not suffer such conduct. This dance as I live To Finch you shall give. In my house I will not be defied ! "

But Boys ,vhisper' d :

" Hearken to me, Elizabeth dear : When my good father's estate shall be clear He will give me three hundred pounds a year, And though no title I yet can claim l\1y sword shall show me the way to fame. Defy thy sire, affianced, and all And with thy true love walk forth from the hall ; Thou art my soul, my heart, my life, And my dearest wish is to make thee my wife.''

Sir John became so furious he ordered the n1instrels to '' be gone," and no dance was allowed. Later he called his daughter to him and told her Finch must be her h_usband, as he had already advanced them thousands of pounds to save their estate. Broken­ hearted, she agreed to the sacrifice of her affections and was soon married in Canterbury Cathedral. Master Boys soon courted under the Frechville oak the fair-haired Lucy, whom he married. They had five little girls, the eldest only living a few months. About this time the abortive Treaty of Uxbridge was projected. The King was most desirous of concluding peace and did not begin the war. But with the failure of his attempt to seize Kimbolton and the five members, Civil War virtually commenced on his retirement from Whitehall with his Court. He proceeded first to Hampton Court and finally to York. l\1ajor John Boys was now sent to hold Donnington Castle, ,vhich had been several times bombarded before October, 1644. The Royal Standard was flying high over the ruined rampart, while still the castle stood out as a barrier before the enemy, who were concentrated on the road between Newberry and Oxford. Now once again ail was in readiness for an attack. The Dragooners and l\lusqueteers, who represented many of the " men of Kent " and " Kentish men," wore their helmets and scarves, the latter being worn over their shoulder or round the waist, the colour being the distinguishing badge-men of a country who still boast they have never been conquered and take for their motto" Invicta." 39 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Already they adored their Captain, who had " got a bang at the black Tom Fairfax* and his tatter-rags." Firkers of hot water were provided for the soldiers who should scale the castle walls. All stood at their posts awaiting orders, wnen1 . . .

" Stand or I fire ! " the sentry cries, So near the flag of truce now flies, Then pauseth he who pennon bore, And Ireton's face is seen.

" Ye Royalist

'' Of the castle's repair,'' Thus did Boys make reply, '' My Prince has the care ; All his foes I defy ; And if God His good aid to me bring, Although ev'ry stone Of the wall be o'erthrown, Yet the ground I will keep for the King.''

The garrison had won the day, and the final history of the siege is well known. Boys had been badly w?unded, b~t was nursed back to life by his faithful old love, Lady Elizabeth Finch. His wife Lucy, now dead, had been unable to withstand the trials of the time, and Sir Nathaniel slept under a marble slab, his hands pointing upwards as if in prayer. Bonnyngton has been seized and sequestrated like so many estates of all who took the side of the King. Oxford was the refuge of the families of Royalists, scores of children being glad to find back streets and lanes to live in by the loyal town. On June 14th following was fought the fatal battle of Naseby, \vhich destroyed at once the power and hopes of the Royalists. • Lord Fairfax. DONNINGTON'S POEM The King, finding out the secret love of his loyal soldier, knighted him at Donnington, and later at Christ Church Hall, Oxford.

" A bridal feast they do straight prepare ; King Charles the lady away he gave ; Hyde and Southampton, and Capel so Nave, His Highness Prince Rupert, too­ Richmond and Hertford, and nobles a score­ Time it would take for to reckon them o'er­ With many a lady, as I could tell, Did greet the lovers and wish them well ; And to cheer their hearts so true The high bells of Christ Church did merrily ring !

My friends, I have no more to say or to sing. I pray you your caps i' the air to fling, While low on the knee I do pledge you- The King!''

Vivat in reternum Rex Carolus !

41 CHAPTER III

" FREDVILLE ,,

" Virtus Sola Nobilitas "

Through days of sorrow and of inirth, Through days of death and days of birth, Through every swift vicissitude Of changeful time, unchanged it has stood, And as if, like God, it all things saw, It calmly repeats these words of awe- '' Forever-never! Never-forever! ''

In that mansion used to be Free-hearted Hospitality : His great fires up the chimney roared ; The stranger feasted at his board ; But, like the skeleton at the feast, That ,varning time-piece never ceased- '' Forever-never ! Never-forever! ''

There groups of merry children played, There youths and maidens dreaming strayed ; 0 precious hours ! 0 golden prime ! And affluence of love and time ! Even as a miser counts his gold Those hours the ancient time-piece told­ '' Forever-never! Never-forever! ''

HE estate of Fredville in Noni1;gto_n consists of about 300 acres and the manor house, ,vh1ch 1n 1300 was held by the T Castle of Dover. Dryland and Wetherford, by a fine levied about 1485, conveyed it to William Boys of Bonnington, who died possessed of it. His son John, M.P. for Sandwich, married Alice Roper, who came from a family which suffered from the rising of Jack Cade. When Sir Thomas More was dead his head was secretly removed to St. Dunstan's Church by his daughter, Margaret Roper, and placed in the chapel founded by her family in 1400. · In this church were baptized Richard Boys in 1593 and Silvan Boys 1614, while the Register records the marriage of Robert Taylor and Thomazine Boys 1586. 42 COAT OF ARMS BEFORE 1591 COAT OF ARMS OF SIR JOHN BOYS OF CANTERBURY

~

~- _. ' ,,,,!_:~'·..-...... llil'JI

BULL COAT OF ARMS QUARTERED WITH BOYS OF KENT COAT OF ARMS AFTER 1591

f:l :l ,t ~:~

'•q; ' ·_:,-:, ' ; ':ti.!:,'._~ ...__ .,. ,J,~;, Ji,,y,j /,

T. ROSS BOY~ CAN ADA JOHN BOYS OF DONNINGTON CASTLE

DOVER HARBOUR William Boys succeeded his father at Fredville and was in the Commission of the Peace 1548; his brother Thomas became Cap- tain of Deal Castle. . William, who died 1508, left to his grandson the manor house of Shebbertswell, and it became the property of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward of Fredville, who married Thomas Turner, of whom mention is made again later in this chapter. William Churchill owned this estate 1785. The manor of Shebbertswell-alias Upton Wood-was given by King Edmund in 944 to the monastery of St. Augustine. The estate later belonged to Richard, the natural son of King John, then to Sir Walter de Wyngham, whose family was entirely extinct before I 347. The Philpots lived there for several generations. Philpots, the historian, married a niece of Stephen Boys of St. Mildred's, Can­ terbury, who died 23rd July 1564. Stephen's daughter Thomazine died two days before him, and his wife Agnes on the 20th July, all dying of plague. They were buried in St. Mildred's Church.

But to return to William of Fredville, who desired by his will " If I die where I dwell to be buried in the chapel where I used to sit. £40 to each daughter at marriage and also 100 livres each the which their Uncle shall bequeath them." His son Edward was made High Sheriff of Kent, and one of the High Commissioners for causes ecclesiastical. He wrote with Wil­ liam Partheriche a letter to Lord Cobham stating they had mustered all the horsemen within the lathes of St. Augustine's, and desired further time for making the certificate of the parks and of the horses and mares bred in them. Edward advocated the erection of a long wall for Dover Harbour, a great store of excellent clay having been found which, with the chalk, make passing good stuff to be incorporated together. In 1584 the mouth of Dover Harbour was commenced, and a request was made for an honest smith to be sent to help in the work, and authority given to the Commissioners to compel the men to work. The following year a new Commission was appointed, and Edward Boys, Esq., was chosen treasurer for the year. It approved of instructions and rate of wages; unfortu­ nately damage ,vas done to the haven by a great storm, so that Mr. Boys had to apply for more money and was granted £400, while nine extra workmen were employed. Mr. John Boys as Ports Counsel received the fee of £2. Edward again wrote to Lord Cobham to certify the unfur­ nished state of the military bands ; and Edmund Boys wrote to Walsyngham desiring that his son might have command of the division of the trained bands to be sent to France. He would then 43 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS furnish him with everything he might require, enclosing a note for a dinner in the Great Parlour in Canterbury. Lady Catherine O'Brien of Cobham made John Boys of the City of Westminster and Richard West executors of her will, and " Give unto them £200 apiece for the trouble and Pains they will have in executing this n1y will, and I also give them £50 apiece to buy each of them a ring to wear in memory of me." James I gave to Dover Harbour certain waste land and beach and appointed a warden and assistants, who with their successors were to be the corporation assistants. These included John Boys, Kt., and Edward Boys, Kt. The following are taken as prac­ tically the last entries of the old Dover and Sandwich Road-book, signed by the yearly Warden:- " 9 Dec. 1822. 16 Jan. 1823. I John Boys I Henry Boys do swear that truly and bona fide I am in my own right or in the right of my wife in the actual possession and enjoyment or receipt of Rents and Profits of Freehold or Copyhold Lands, Tene­ ments, or Hereditaments, of the clear yearly value of One Hundred Pounds, above reprizes, and that I will truly, faithfully, and impar­ tially act in the execution of the Trusts and Powers vested and reposed in me by an act passed in the 3rd year of the reign of His Majesty King George IV intitled ' An Act, for containing the Term, and enlarging the Powers of the Act of the forty-first year of his late Majesty King George III, for repairing the road from the Town and the Port of Dover to the Town and Port of Sandwich, and also the road from the present Turnpike Road, leading to Dover to Barham Downs, up Kersinney Court Hill to the Parish of Whit­ field, otherwise Beansfield, in the county of Kent.' '' So help me God. " Henry Boys. " Taken before us " Henry Harvey Wise. " Robert Walker."

The elder Sir Edward, who was knighted at Whitehall 12th May 1604, married Mary, daughter of Sir Peter Wentworth,* by Elizabeth, sister of Sir Francis Walsingham, Kt., Principal Secretary of Queen Elizabeth. Mary Boys was aunt to Sir Philip Sidney. Sir Edward married for his second wife Catherine Knatchbull. The two families have been friends for years. Reginald Boys and • Another Sir Peter Wentworth was a member of the Long Parliament, who, when dismissed by Cromwell, was with Harry l\tlarten mentioned as members whose immorality was a disgrace to the House (Whitelock). 44 NONINGTON CHURCH BRASS young Knatchbull were both shut up in Ladysmith, the latter no sooner returning to England than he was offered the adjutancy of his battalion quartered in Alexandria (M.B.). . . Sir Edward gave, by his vvill, to the poor of Nonington "£61 to be employed for a flock to set the poor a work, and not otherwise to be employed, so as the overseers or any sufficient man of the Parish be found yearly to the heirs of Fredville, whereby the stock be not lost." The ancient stipend paid to the curate of the church was in 1660 augmented by Archbishop Juxon with the addition of £20, and by Mr. Boys' legacy of the small titles in the parish and Wimlingfold made up to £71 6s. 8d. In 1588 there were 235 communicants, but in 1640 only 58, sho"\X1ing the disturbed state of the Church in those times. Sir Edward the elder was buried in Nonington Church, and the following monument erected to his wife Mary :-

, , If piety to God, and love to Sayntes, If pitty of the poore in theyre complaints, If care of children godly education, If modest caryage meritt estimation : All these and more shall this good Lady have To kepe her ever from oblivion's grave; God he hath crowned her with eternal! blisse Her godly ofspring treading in her wayes To theyre succeding age commend her prayse. Such honor she, such honor may they find That unto you should beare a loving mynd."

In this church are several shields of arms and the figure of a knight kneeling on his fur coat, the arms of Boys of Bonnington, and, opposite, the figure of a woman also kneeling, and on her coat the arms of Roper; and three leopards' heads for Wentworth, and three buckles for Philpots. In his will Edward gave an annuity of 40s. out of lands which he had purchased in Nonington and Barfreston, containing 15 acres, to be paid yearly amongst the poor of the parish. In olden times it was considered the correct thing to leave a certain amount of money to the parish where you had been born and brought up. Wm. Boys of Tilmanstone, 3rd son of Wm. of Nonington, a bachelor, vvho served in Parliament for Queenborough in Elizabeth's reign, also left legacies to N onington and Tilmanstone to the use of three poor inhabitants of the parish for ever, to each of whom he directed to be distributed annually four bushels of wheat. This charity was still in existence in 1802. To Nonington Church he gave a legacy to provide two poor housekeepers two houses 45 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS and one and a half acres of land, with a sack of wheat to each housekeeper every Christmas. This charity is now administered by four trustees of Nonington. He contributed to the loan of Kent to King Henry VIII the sum of xx l.i. On an old parchment under glass in the Canterbury Library is a list of the mayors of the town, Wm. of Bonnington being men­ tioned therein. Sir Edward the younger \Vas also member for Sandwich and Dover, and in Charles I's reign was made Lieut. of Dover Castle. A letter from Parliament dated 22 July 1642 states: "Whereas this house hath beene credibily informed, that some ill affected persons, within the county of Kent, are now endeavouring to disperse rumours to the scandale of that Parlyament, and to censure their proceedings against the promoters of the late dangerous Petition and that they have plotted for their pirpos to meete at the Assizes, the farther to extend their malitious designes : It is therefore thought fit, and ordered by the same Howse, that Sir Edward Hales . . . and Sir Edward Boys shall forthwith goe downe into ye sayd assizes, and use all diligence to prevent all such inconvenience or any other attempt that shall bee offered to ye say1 Country not only in peace amongst themselves but in a right understand of the proceedings of Parlyament." In Feb .. 1643 the Mayor and jurats received a letter under the hands of Sir Ed. Boys, Sir John Oxenden, Lieutenants, and John Boys, Esq., requesting the corporation to join with the county of Kent and other counties-viz., Sussex, Surrey, and Hampshire­ in raising men for the public safety, and stating that the following articles had been agreed upon by the deputy Lieutenants and other gentlemen of the county of Kent concerning the raising, arming and paying of 1,000 musketeers and 100 horse for the defence of the said counties : That the forces be raised principally for the guard of the defence of the county ; and that neither the said forces nor any part of them be removed out of the county without an order from both Houses of Parliament, or from his Excellency the Earl of Essex. The same proposal was made to the rest of the ports, but the answers received from Hastings, Sandwich, Dover, New Romney, Winchelsea, Seaford and Tenterden were against the measure, as they considered if a foreign enemy arrived among them suddenly, and the suggested army was in another part of the county, it might be dangerous. "Die lune 29 May 1643. Whereas upon reading of the humble petition of the Mayor, jurats and commonality of Sandwich 16 die instants Maii 1643, it was by the honourable common house of parliament ordered and referred to us to consider, whether or no it be matter of importance the aforesaid town of Sandwich should 46 THE PLOT AT DOVER CASTLE be fortified, and whether the sum of 330 Li. or thereabouts be needful to be expended upon the said fortifications .... Warwick, Edw. Boys, James Oxenden, John Boys." ·

John Reading, chaplain to the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Governor of Dover Castle, was a voluminous author by 1640, and when Charles I was in power was one of His Majesty's Chaplains in Ordinary. He was held in great esteem by the neighbourhood, especially by the puritanical party. But as times changed he seemed much to discountenance them in his sermons. He became obnoxious to the Parliamentary party, and therefore his study of books at Dover was plundered by soldiers under the command of Colonel Sandy, 1643. Seven months later Reading was inhumanly seized in his study at Cheriton, by command of Major Boys or Sir Edw. Boys, on a bitter winter night, hurried to Dover Castle, and the next day sent on to Leeds, with many other prisoners. This disturbance was due to a rumour of a plot for the taking of Dover Castle by the Cavaliers. At length he was discharged by the committee of these parts, after one year and seven months' imprisonment. When Charles II landed in Kent John Reading was " not at all" restored to the cure of his souls at Dover, and Sandy of Northborne, a militia officer, who had shown his valour by plundering several of the loyal inhabitants of Kent, did him harm. Although the committee ordered his goods to be restored, Boys of Chilham ( different from either of the former) had money from Reading before he was released. Sir Edward, that he might comply with the schismatics, prosecuted Reading, to his utter undoing. Sir Edward carried wages into France out of a grant of the lathe of St. Augustine. Roger, his brother, married Ann Rowe, granddaughter of Sir Thomas Rowe, Lord Mayor of London, whose brother, George Rowe, gent., sometime Mayor of Sandwich, was buried at St. Clement's, Sandwich, 1583. Amy, da. of Sir Edward Boys, married Sir Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, created Earl of Dorset by James I. He was one of the earliest among the poets of his country, and the first author to produce regular drama (Anderson's Poets). It would be difficult to desire a more appropriate leave-taking than that described by Hasted in his History of Kent, vol. ix, p. 258: " Major John Boys of Fredville, being a firm loyalist, suffered much by sequestration of his estates. Two of his sons, John and Nicholas, finding that there was no abode at Fredville to which they had become entitled, departed each from thence with a favourite hawk in hand and became pensioners at the Charter­ house in London." D 47 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS There can be no question that the ample patrimony which, with the Fredville estates, this Major John inherited from his father, Sir Edward Boys, in 1646, became dissipated during his lifetime, but it is certainly not due to his loyalty to the cause of King Charles. He was, in fact, an active supporter of the Parliament both during the Civil War and Interregnum. Hasted, in his reference to sequestration, is evidently confusing him with Sir John of Bon­ nington. The cause of Major John Boys' financial difficulties has to be sought in other directions, and V/illiam Boys in his pedigree of the family (Sandwich, 1802) probably had good grounds for stating that '' by his extravagance he much encumbered and wasted the estate of Fredville." At the date at which Hasted and William Boys were writing, it would seem that not only the circumstances in which t'redville passed out of the hands of Boys, but also the later genealogical details of the Fredville branch, were involved in a certain amount of obscurity. From documents in the Public Record Office we learn, however, that Major John Boys and his son Nicholas dealt with the property. These documents are pleadings and answers in some long-forgotten suits of law ,vhich the Court of Chancery have carefully preserved, viz. :-

Lord Holles 'lJersus John and Nicholas May 1678 (Bridges Boys 500/91) James Boys versus William Turner Jan. 1689 (Hamilton [his uncle and 33/25 and by marriage] May 1691 33)

The story, having little in common with the picturesque account given by Hasted, which these Chancery proceedings unfold is that Major John Boys and Nicholas, his son and heir, had in 1658 mortgaged the manor of Elmington, with appurtenances in N oning­ ton, Eythorne and Wymblingswold, and the advov,son of the church of Eythorne, to Thomas Turner in the sum of £1,550. This Thomas Turner was brother-in-law to Major John Boys. This mortgage was renewed in 1668. In July 1673 '' the mansion house called Fredville wherein the said John Boys then lived and lands etc. unto the said manor belonging situate in the several parishes of Nonington, Barfreston and Knowlton together with a farmhouse called Frogham Farm and several closes thereunto belonging containing two hundred acres, which farm was already mortgaged to one William Gilbourne," were conveyed to Lord Holles, the · Duke of Newcastle, as security for an advance of £3,000. Apparently no part of the monies thus borrowed ,vas repaid, and the properties passed into the possession of the mortgagees~ 48 FREDVILLE HOUSE Major John Boys and his son Nicholas were arrested for debt and kept prisoners in the King's Bench in South,vark for many years. Nicholas died in 1687, ,vithout issue, and John in March- 1688, an octogenarian. In 1689 James Boys, a younger brother of Nicholas, appears on the scene. He is described as a citizen and cloth­ worker of London, and makes a determined effort to save something from the wreck. On t,vo occasions he applies to the Court in connection with his attempt to redeem so much of the family estates as had been mortgaged to his uncle, Thomas Turner. It was a gallant effort, but apparently came too late to achieve its object. Fredville was sold again in 1745 to Margaret, sister of Sir Brook Bridges, Bart., of Goodnestone, and on her marriage with John Plumptree, Esq., of Northampton, 1750, the latter became in her right possessed of it as her dowry. The Manor was rebuilt on the old flint foundations by R. Carr Glyn, Esq., where he died 1791, and was succeeded by his son John Plumptree, who resided there till 1800. Little is left _of the original house of Fredville except the cellars and the covered-in well in the centre of the old kitchen. One wonders where " the chamber commonly called the Nurssery " used to be, which was left for the use of the wife of William and Aunt Margret. Even in those days with twelve children there could not have been more happiness than there is now with fifty children in Miss Hardy's home school, and to which is even added a tiny nursery party. Will not the old spirit of chivalry help to bring up the children as God-fearing citizens and Kentish farmers ? The Manor stood at the end of a long avenue of trees, but only a few oaks now remain. The largest is called " King Fredville Oak," and " The Ancient Bear " stands close to the house ; both were known to be flourishing in 1554. They are very, very old, and un­ fortunately a big bough broke off one in 1924. The tree measures 27 feet round the girth and is 30 feet high. Near by is" Beauty," noted for its glorious foliage in the summer, and yet another was large enough for a room with a table and chairs in it. The Fredville oak has perhaps not quite the biggest girth of a tree in England, as in the old churchyard at Cudham are two very old yews, one with a girth of 27} feet and the other 26i feet. When wanting to enlarge the church of Buckland, near Dover, in 1880, there was moved 50 yards a yew tree of over I ,ooo years old, still alive, although it had been struck by lightning, which had divided its two principal limbs. In Fredville garden is the finest magnolia tree in England. From the house is a secret passage to the wood, in which is an old ice house sunk 20 feet into the ground, with its old oak door, half of D2 49 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS which was stolen (most probably for firewood) when mining operations commenced in the neighbourhood. The two shields in coloured glass were taken from the old house of Fredvyle many years ago : 1, Boys, with ancient arms impaling per fesse az. and ar. a pale countercharged, three harts' heads, brassed or, for Roper ; crest on a mount a falcon rising or, bearing in its beak a label with the name of Boys. 2, Boys, ancient arms, impaling I ar. on a fesse az. betwixt three lions' heads erased gu., as many bezants or for Byngeley, and 2 per fesse indented erm., and gu., gu. for Langley. The legend of the White Horse is well known. He appears in a wooded part of the estate on wild and stormy nights, galloping round in search of shelter. The second legend is that of the faithful old liound, which belonged to a daughter of the house. It was buried in the wood and is said still to visit the house, but, finding all happy and well, returns to its home.

The old town known as Bromleay, and later Bromley, ,vas so called from the quantity of broom which covered the commons, and is within 10 miles of London. It has been an important place since Ethelbert, King of Kent, gave Bishop Eardulph six furlongs of land in it, 967. But later he caused the lands belonging to the see to be laid waste in consequence of a difference of opinion with the Bishop of Rochester. It became an agricultural centre, being well supplied with water from the Ravensbourne. Sir Edward Bois ... John Boys, and Wm. Boys, at that time the Mayor of Tenterden, were members of the Committee of Kent which sat in June 1643 at the Bishop's Palace, Bromley. Just off this estate was Bromley Lodge, which has now been con­ verted into the Ladies' Conservative Club and is well worth a visit. It contains, as does another in the neighbourhood, an old powder cupboard where wigs were kept. In making alterations to one of the floors a guinea-piece was found ; guineas were last used in the reign of George III. Here Agnes Isabella, da. of Archdeacon Boys, lived for several years after her marriage to Samuel Cawston. Later they moved with many children to Bromley Hill, the beautiful home built by Colonel Charles Long, who had inherited £30,000 as his marriage portion from Amelia, da. of Sir Abraham Hume, and bought Bromley Hill and the adjoining properties known as The Warren, Windmill Farm, The Brooks, Bakers Hills, Crabtree Fields, Deep Shades, and the Shoulder of Mutton Piece. On account of services rendered to the country, Charles Long was created Lord Farnborough, and Bromley Hill Park, which was common land, was given him by the Government 1826. In the old 50 ELY CATHEDRAL Italian garden was grown by him the " Cleome Pentaphylla," or five-leaved Cleome, which had been grown by Parkinson in England as early as 1640. . During Lord Farnborough's time his gardener, a married man, murdered one of the housemaids in the house, and after several days' trial was condemned and hanged at the crossroads at the top of Bromley Hill. The old ·house is now an hotel and tennis club.

Before ending the Fredville branch Canon John Bois, Prebend of the 1st stall in Ely Cathedral, must not be forgotten. His father, Wm. Bois, was a clothier in Halifax, who with his brother Ed,vard are believed to be the sons of John of Fredville by his second wife, l\,lary Roper. Ely Cathedral was commenced by Simeon, Abbot of Ely, a relative of William the Conqueror. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the revenues of the suppressed Abbey were given to a new body known as "the Dean and Chapter," the last Prior becoming first Dean, and several monks becoming Canons (later Cromwell is said to have acted as Bailiff to the Dean and Chapter). At this time then we find John Bois as Canon; he had been born at Nettlestead, Suffolk, 1561, and at the age of 6 years could read the Hebrew Bible and write the characters elegantly. At 15 he wrote Greek. In 1580 he was taken ill with smallpox, but was carried in blankets to be admitted to the university to preserve his seniority. He went to Cambridge intending to join the medical profession, but gave it up as he fancied himself affected with every disease he read about. He married Muribel Poolay, and had six children, but only John survived him. Mrs. Boys was a bad economist, incurring an accumulation of debts which was only discharged by the sale at a great loss of his fine library. He soon reconciled himself to circumstances, and continued to leave all money matters in his wife's hands. Canon John Bois ,vas a very eminent divine, preaching plain sermons without notes. He had scruples against baptizing a child over the usual age, but too young to make a personal profession of faith. He lived by rule and fasted sometimes twice a week, sometimes once in three weeks ; he was fond of walking, and learned to study standing, never near a window, and never went to bed with cold feet ! Boys helped in translating 1 Chron., Eccles., and the Apocrypha, being one of six scholars selected to go to London to revise the Bible for the press. '' Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye, Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing. Wasn't that a dainty dish to set b~fore the King?'' UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS There is a story which says this song was ,vritten about 1650. James I being very fond of a certain pastry crust, sixpence ,vas given to a small boy to procure the rye to make the pie. The four and twenty blackbirds were given as a surprise to the King to introduce him to the twenty-four learned divines who had translated the Bible. John Bois became Protestant, and retired to a farm at Nettlestead, near Hadleigh, where he died 14th January 1644, and was buried on 6th February in Trinity Church. No monument was erected to him, but a stone tablet in one of the Cathedral pillars states : '' This is the statue of Wm. Bois, son of John Bois one of the Canons of this Church. He lived more or less 30 years and rendered his soul to God filled with placid contentment. He died 1637 and ,vas buried the fallowing day.'' Wm. became Rector of West Stov,r in the place of his father, and Rector of Hadleigh, where he became a master of the school. · It was his custom to give extra lessons in his room at 4 a.m., when most of the boys attended. Holt, Rector of Boxworth, left a ,vill in which he nominated Bois as his successor and expressed a wish that \Vm. Bois should marry his daughter. This was done in 1589. The natural effortless literary style of writing has run from John Bois of Ely to the present day. Francis John Bois of Jersey, at the age of 13, wrote on topics of the moment for local papers both in French and English. To the first English Bois the King was the Duke of Normandy, and in Jersey to-day the King is toasted as" Le Roi, notre Due."

The following Wm. Boys, known as a citizen of London, is believed to be the grandson of Wm. Bois the clothier in Halifax. In 1608 a Wm. Boys of Wiltshire, a clothier, had 5 sons and one daughter.

" The Narrative of Mr. Wm. Boys, citizen of London relating to a Popish Plot and Murther of Sir Edmund-Bury Godfrey, 1680.

[ Shortened Account] " In the first place I was bred up in a Protestant Family from my infancy, as being the son of Mr. Rowland Boys, a clothier in the city of Worcester ; and I have all along Professed the same Religion. True to that neighbourhood and a social Temper brought me into the acquaintance of several R.C.'s with ,vhom I had frequent converse ... but with none so strickly in friendship as with Mr. Miles Prance. '' The scandalous Reproaches thrown upon me for my good Intentions to serve King and Country, being the contrivances of the 52 SIR ED1\1UND-BERRY GODFREY Never-sleeping Party ,vho have left no stone unturned to abolish the Belief of Sir Edmund-Berry Godfrey's lviurther, at least as any way Reflecting upon Romish Design, have occasioned me to Publish the fe\V sheets, not only for the Vindication of my own conscience but also for the general satisfaction of the nation. . .. I was the faithful Instrument to procure the Discovery of that Inhuman and deeply meditated Murther .... " 20th Sept. I was invited by l\1r. Prance to dinner in Token of a courteous welcome home. \Vhile there a lodger came in hastily with private intelligence for him, who returned to his guests with a sorrowful Countenance. . . . He told me several of his friends had been taken to Prison the night before; and he did not know why. We all went to a Coffee House in Drewry Lane ,vhere Mr. Prance was kno,vn as a Papist and he was greeted ,vith this welcome . . . ' Now all the Bloody Designs of your Papists are discovered and several of your Priests and Jesuits are apprehended for High Treason, for attempting to kill the King and Destroy the Protestant Religion.' . . . · After a heated discussion I thought it wise to retire to the Tavern with Mr. Prance. "Upon the Coming of the King's Proclamation Mr. Prance, not willing to take the oath of Allegiance and Supremacy, was resolved to have gone out of Town . . . soon after these Passages had happened, there ,vas a secret murmuring among the neighbours that Doubtless Mr. Prance was concerned in the murther of Sir Edmund-Berry Godfrey, for he was so timorous as to lie from his House; and because he was also the Queen's servant. . . . At another time Vematti fell upon me with all his persuasive arguments to Reconcile me to the Church of Rome, and would have used perhaps many more words but lvlr. Prance told him it was in vain to trouble himself, and indeed it ,vas but an ill time for him to think of con­ verting me, who had the same Design upon his present Friend. " 20th Dec. Mr. Prance taken away, his wife with tears in her eyes came and requested me to go and give my testament [bail] for him, that he lay at my House such and such nights, and therefore could not be Guilty of the Crime that was laid to his charge; I went accordingly to speak what I knew, but my testimony would not then be admitted .... It was ordered by some of the members of the House of Commons, that my house should be searched, believing they might find some of Mr. Prance ietters. Mr. Prance was strictly examined before the King and Council, where he first made a confession and then denied all again ; whereupon he was sent back to Newgate ....." Here he remained, but Boys was sent time after time to question him to get the truth who had murdered Godfrey. " At last he owned up and revealed the Design of Proffers, 53 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Mattlefon, Adamson and Bradshaw, to have murthered the Rt. Hon. Earl of Shaftesbury. . . . Indeed such was the case. Indefatigable, Care and Industry of the Noble Peer in Prosecuting the Discovery of the Plot, such his wisdom and councils for the attempt of our enemies, that he has mereited the thankful applause of the whole nation. " On account of Mr. Prance's confession he was given his Pardon and Captain Richardson should suffer him to want for nothing and I was to keep him company everyday. Wm. Boys."

The Court of White Hall, 29th Jan. 1678-9. Present the King's Most Excellent Majesty.

" The Lords of the Committee of Examinations having this day represented to his Majesty in Councel the necessity of having a stock of 3 or 400 pound sterling, to answer the occasion of the Committee ; did among other particulars make mention of the Service which had been done by Mr. Wm. Boys, who had for a long time left his own occasions, and the follo\\ing of his Trade, to obey the orders of the said Committee, and frequently to resort to his neighbour Mr. Prance, in order to Discover the truth of the evidence which he had given touching the murther of Sir Edmund-Barry Godfrey, and their lordships praying that his Majesty would please to besto,v,some mark of his Favour upon him to the value of 30 pound sterling. His Majesty was pleased to order and it is hereby ordered accordingly, the Right Honourable Lord High Treasurer of England do forthwith cause to be paid to the said Wm. Boys the sum of 30 pound sterling, as of his Majestie's free gift and Bounty to him out of the stock, which by the said Committee is desired to answer the service which is under their care."

" For the King's Majesty and Council were pleased to be so sensible of the pains I had taken to bring that horrid murther to light, that the Earl of Essex, a most noble and Prudent councellor, did me the high favour to return me a particular thanks. William Boys."

Whether the unfortuoote Sir Edmondsbury Godfrey lost his life by Papist or Protestant, by private enemies, or by his own hand (for he was a low-spirited and melancholy man), will probably never be discovered. (Note from Peveril of the Peak.)

54 CHAPTER IV

HoAD OR BLEAN CouRT

HE village of Hoad or Blean has been noted since 791, when T King Offa granted the lands and woods called Blean Heanrie to Christ Church. They were afterwards given PY Richard I to the monks of the Priory to hold on payment of one pair of gloves, excepting the portion which his father had given to the Priory of St. Gregory. Part of the famous forest is still standing, and has been brought to notice in later years by the famous Broughton Riots, and by the fanatic Thomas, who was shot dead by the military in 1838. Blean or Hoath Court was so named from its situation on the corner of the " hothe " or common, and is still called " in the Bleane " ; while the hospital was known as " Hospitale de Bosco de Blean." It was a wild, wooded country, with much rough and poor land in it, and the inhabitants were in general like the soil, poor and rough. Wild boars were still hunted here in Elizabeth's reign. In the Rentals of the Manor, which were given to Eastbridge Hospital, Canterbury, by Thomas de Roos in 1359, is mentioned " Gate Filver" (a custom not often met with), which was a payment made by the tenants of the manor for the repair of the gates leading to and from the Blean to prevent their cattle from straying and being lost. Dr. Lans was Master of the Hospital in Elizabeth's reign, and he gave a lease of the manor to his brother for three lives, who, dying 1594, left it by will to Sir John Boys, who bequeathed it to his nephew, Dr. Thomas Boys, who styled himself of St. Gregories. Dr. Thomas, at his own wish, was buried in the cathedral; perhaps he did not fancy lying in the little chapel, which was described as "mean and poor," and is certainly in rather a desolate spot. His monument was removed to the Chapter House or cloister. It stated : " Here rests the body of Dr. Thomas Boys of Fredville who took to wife the daughter of Richard Rogers, D.D., Dean of Canterbury and Suffragan of the Archbishop. A man an orna­ ment of an ancient Family, and of the age he lived in; this only his Epitaph preserves his memory : The just shall be had in Eternal remembrance." Under the same tomb are interred the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Boys, second daughter of Sir William Boys, M.D., great-grandson of the afore­ said; she died in the year 1722, aged 23 years. The brother of Dr. 55 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Thon1as Boys was William, a Feilow of Clare College, Cambridge. He was granted passes to travel for three years in 1621, and became general surveyor of Kent. He died a bachelor, and ,vas buried at Great l\1issenden. The fallowing amusing letter was found among some old papers : " William Boys and seven others of Clare Hall to Secretary Cecil-We thank you, after our long deprivation for ap­ pointing us so learned and praiseworthy a master. Under civilian chancellors, the pupils of the Muses are n1ost happy. Posterity and this Academy will be eternally indebted to you. She ,vill return to her former gladness and flourishing age. May God reward you.'' The Dean of Canterbury was the third brother of Dr. Thomas Boys. They are mentioned later on in this chapter. Hoad Court descended from him to John, who married Mary Fotherby, and their son, also cailed John, prided himself on his classical attainments, translating Virgil's Aeneid. His enthusiasm for Virgil was boundless, but his criticism is rather childish. Harvey used to say of Virgil that the book had a devil. John also wrote a book entitled Aeneas his Errors, or his VoJ,agefro1n Troy into Italy. His son John succeeded him at Roath Court, and until knighted was called Captain John. His memorial gives a full account of himself and his actions and is translated from the Latin. MEMORIAL IN BLEAN CHURCH " Sacred to the Memory of Sir John Boys of Roath, descendant of the very ancient family of the Boys of Fredville and Bonnington, who both in his country and his family was an honour. A man versed in the arts of peace and of war. Belgium's school of war attracted him more than Oxford, the Home of the Muses ; but he abandoned the Seat of Learning, not learning itself-best companion for a man of arms. As a young man he first saw action at the Battle of Seneffe,* and displayed exemplary courage, the outcome being that he was honoured with a troop of soldiers by the Prince of Orange. l\1ore­ over, in a short time he was promoted to higher rank in reward for his valour, which ,vas further conspicuous at the siege of Claestricht, and freely acknowledged in the commendatory dispatches of the before-mentioned commander. He served with the greatest dis­ tinction in the Army of King Charles and James, being especially esteemed by the farmer, who nominated him his captain. He entered upon civil duties in the reign of Queen Anne, who appointed him Assessor and Surveyor of numerous Taxes ; which office he

* The Battle of Seneffe in Belgium was fought 1674 bet\veen the Dutch, under the Prince of Orange, and the French, under Conde. 56 MRS. HAlVll\1:0ND'S LETTER fulfilled with unimpeachable honesty and equal discretion. He married Jane, daughter of Sir Richard Head, Bart., and she is deservedly remembered as remarkable for her beauty of body and mind, a surpassing ornament and model to her sex. Seized with a paralytic stroke, he died 4th September in the year of our Lord 1710, aged 57 ; she died 17th December r717, aged 66." The last male descendant to own the Hoad estate was Colonel John, of whom Mrs. Hammond was not sure about, as will be seen from her letter dated" Watteringburg, Novr. ye 5th 1715." First mentioning the death of a young friend and then the misfortune caused by the parting by marriage of her cousin Ayles, she adds : " I could tell you of another who is gone up with her upon the same account but I won't not have you say much of it tell you hear it from some body ells. I mean Cosen Betty Dalison to Coll. Boys. I don't know ,vhether you are acquainted with him, but his habu­ lation is within 5 or 6 miles of Chilham. I very much wish he may prove as good a husband as I believe l\1r. Digges will be for I think she deserves as much happiness as anyone I know. I wish you would tell me and I promise it shall go no farther if it happens to be none of ye best. . " I am yr most affectt hum: servant Ioa : T. Wisden."

What reply was written has not been traced, although some day several interesting letters may still come to light. One thing is known. Colonel John Boys married Elizabeth Dalison soon after­ wards, and it is sad to relate that their three sons died unmarried, and the estate ,vent to t,vo daughters, ,vho held it for three genera­ tions. The elder daughter, Elizabeth, married Charles Wake, D.D., Prebendary of Westminster, and Ann married Osmond Beauvoir, D.D., headmaster of King's School, Canterbury, whose grand­ daughter married William Hammond of St. Alban's Court, so Mrs. Hammond, if alive, must have given her blessing. The last direct descendant of this family was killed in the Great War. Road Court is now a small farmhouse, little of the original remaining, but by hard work the land gives a good return and the sheep do well. A few hops are also gro,vn in the neighbourhood, a plant which was well kno,vn to the Romans, but little cultivated until the sixteenth century.

57 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS

DEAN JOHN BOYS Dean John, fourth son of Thomas Boys, was born at Eythorne 1571. Probably educated at King's School, Canterbury. He entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, took his degree and migrated to Clare Hall, where he became a Fellow. His first preferment was to Betzhanger in his native county, given him by his uncle, Sir John Boys. He preached at St. Paul's Cross when only twenty-seven years of age. For a time he was Rector of Hollingbourne, and to the inhabitants of the village he dedicated his Exposition of the Festivals, Epistles and Gospels. "Well-beloved," says he, " in the best Beloved, I have lately preached these notes among you, rather out of entire love, than out of any triall of law." He was a great preacher and became a distinguished theologist. His merit becoming known to James I, he was appointed, 1610, one of the first Fellows of Chelsea College.* He received the mastership of Eastbridge Hospital, and soon after went to Tilmanstone.t From this vicarage can still be seen the group of trees known as '' Boys Firs," and in the little church is the grave of Richard Fogg, father of fourteen children, famous for poetry and skill in heraldry, 1680. Dean Boys' collected works were dedicated to King James and bore his portrait engraved by Cole as a frontispiece. His style was quaint, and displayed much of that peculiar taste that prevailed about 1625. A warmer adversary of the Pope could not be pro­ duced at the period. He attacked him with unsparing ridicule. Strange as it sounds, he turned the Lord's Prayer into a curious example of ecclesiastical impiety and malignity and into an execration upon his Holiness, introducing his version into a sermon preached on Gunpowder Treason Day at St. Paul's Cross :- " Papa noster qui es Romae maledicetur nomen tuum, intereat regnum tuum, impedicetur voluntas tua sicut in caelo sic in terra. Potum nostrum in Caena Domnica da nobis hodie, et remitte nummos nostros quos tibi dedimus indulgentias sicut et nos remittimus tibi indulgentias, et ne nos inducas in haerisim sed libera nos a miseria qui omain tuum est infernum, pix et sulphur, in saecula saeculorum.'' " I pray with our forefathers in the first English Litany, set out in the days of King Henry VIII," says the preacher, " From all * Almost every divine attacked the Pope or one of his champions ; and the most intemperate rage against the enemy was generally the most applauded. The King contrived an excellent expedient to perpetuate hostilities by erecting a college for this branch of theology at Chelsea, where he appointed veterans for training up young divines to the service. t Five and a half acres of land in Tilmanstone are still owned by Jesus Hospital. 58 DEAN JOHN BOYS sedition and privie conspiracie, from the tyrannie of the Bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities, from all false doctrine and heresie, from hardness of heart, contempt of Thy word and com­ mandments, Good Lord deliver us.'' In 1619 Dr. Boys was promoted by James I to the Deanery of Canterbury, and installed that year. The chief historical event during the remainder of his life was in 1625: " The 13 daye of June was married Owre Nobell Kinge Charles att Canterburye." (Thanet Parish Magazine.) On the !'2th Henrietta Maria, aged 16 years, landed at Dover. Charles I saw her first on the 13th, receiving her with " transports of joy and affection, professing he could no longer be master of himself as he would be a servant to her." She was the daughter of Henry IV of France and his wife, Maria de Medici. On the 13th the King attended service in the Cathedral, and Dr. Boys preached the sermon, which has been preserved. " It is a poor performance-, stilted and unreal as such sermons usually were ; but it has merit. It is short ! " The music for the occasion was com­ posed by Orlando Gibbons, who took his degree of Doctor of Music 1622, aged 39. Unfortunately he was seized with smallpox and died in Canterbury whilst waiting for the royal marriage. He was buried in the Cathedral, where his music was played on the anniversary of his death, 1925. In 1619 steps were taken to modify certain abuses which had grown up round the Cathedral, and it was agreed by the Dean and Chapter that the shops within the Cathedral yard should not be opened, nor fruit and other things sold on Sundays ; and also that no more standing to sell commodities without the gates of the church at any time or any market be allowed but only for the time of the four fairs (Acta Capituli). The fairs continued to be held in the Cathedral precincts until 1826. In 1620 the question of preaching engaged the attention of the Chapter, and it was decided that a sermon should be preached every Sunday afternoon by the Dean, Canons and preachers in their turn for ever. Dr. Boys held the Deanery for little over six years, dying suddenly in his study, September 1625. In his will he says: "As for my body I desire it should be buried in the little Chapell next the Sermon House with some inscription or image in the wall next to the Sermon House doore" (now known as the Dean's Chapel). Inscription on the tomb :- " Amongst the tears of good men. "John Boys, D.D., Dean of this Church of Christ, Canterbury, lately a pattern of Christian diligence, then of human mortality, 59 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS and now of divine grace. He taught, raised, adorned the Church by his teaching, life and writings ; and in particular left behind him as his perpetual monument, an excellent Explanation of the whole Liturgy ; a work of the utmost use and benefit to the English Clergy. This monument tho' small and unworthy so great a man and so loving a husband, a debt due to his remains, Angela his tender and sorrowful wife hath erected.'' On his monument is inscribed among the books, Bonorum Lacrymis, and the books are turned with backs to the wall after the fashion of those days. Through the kindness of the Dean and authorities this monument was thoroughly repaired in 1924. Dean Boys married, 1605, Angela Bargrave (sister of his successor, Dean Isaac Bargrave), and she remained on at the Deanery nearly 2(? years, dying during the Revolution and was buried in the Cathedral. Thomas Sturman, auditor of the Dean, a man the pattern of fidelity and economy, buried in the Cathedral, in his will, says : '' To my everlasting Mistress Engell Boys all my goods whatsoever not before disposed of. I make her my executor.'' Dean Farrar wrote: " Dr. Boys was exemplary in character; his life was pious ; his abilities great. Fuller suggests that Boys received no higher preferment owing to a great prelate having borne him no good will in consequence of animosities between prelate and Boys while they were at Cambridge. '' His writings were continually read until the troubles preceding the Commonwealth. Then they fell out of favour, for he was an uncompromising Churchman, who did not spare those who sym­ pathised with the theology of the Puritans. His works were trans­ lated into German and published at Strasburg, 1683. He was one of the greatest book collectors of his time."

JOHN BOYS EXPOSITION, 1638 " 'I am not ashamed of the Gospell.'-Rom. i, 16. "To The Most High and Mighty Prince, James, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. " Most Gracious and dread Soveraigne, " Theodorus Gaza, the Beauclerk of his age, professed ingenu­ . ously, that if he might use but one volume, he would chuse the labours of Plutarch: S. Cyprian a blessed Martyr, honoured ,vritings of Tertullian so much as that he stiled him usually,' Master': 60 THE \\ ORKES 0 IOHN BOYS octor i11 Diuini ,mtfaJttwt Dmte,lum 8.. mprrnl,df"' 1P,fGm,; IHUJ J62::i., .., ~

DEAN JOI-IN BOYS TITLE PAGE OF THE WORKS OF DEAN JOHN BOYS, 1622

DEAN BOYS' EXPOSITION Erasmus, a man of incomparable reading, was addicted so far to the works of St. Augustine, that he said, the perfections of all other Doctors were found in this one Prelate : Others have _had their likings, haply lusts, in this kinde. " But for my part a vow to the world, that from my youth up unto my gray haires I did ever esteeme, as a second Bible, the book of Common Prayer, in which (as I have here proved) every tittle is grounded upon the Scripture well applied, every good application agreeable to the most ancient and best refarmed Liturgies in all ages. These treatises, heretofore scattered in parts, are now brought together and bound together in one entire body, which I present in all humility to your Highness, as being the defender of the faith and as it were the common Atlas of the reformed heaven and earth : hating schisme with a perfect hatred, and embracing unity with a love surpassing the love of women : and to your Highness, as being not only the Scholler's King, but the King of Schollers: and to your Highnesse, as a pledge of my true devotion and unfained thanks for that eminent place which I professe by your royall gift in the Church of Canterbury. " The Lord· of hosts and God of peace bee with your Majestie to the end and in the end, that as you have now received in a measure pressed downe from the riches of his mercy grace for grace ; so you may hereafter in a measure running over obtaine glory for glory ; for this earthly scepter \vhich is transitorie that heavenly crown which is. immortall and immarcessible. " Your Majesties most obliged subject and servant, " John Boys."

"To the Vertuous and Worthy Knight Sir John Boys of Canter­ bury, my very good Uncle, Grace and Peace. ".Sir, " You did first plant my studies, Archbishop V. Whitegift, that president of piety, watered them, and God gave increase : to God, as to the fountaine of all goodness, I consecrate all that I have : to your happy memories, as to the conduites of much good, I dedicate this ensuing Postlle, especially to your selfe surviving, as to my best patron in Cambridge, where the foundation of this worke ,vas laid : unto yourselfe, as to the chiefe procurer of that small Benefice, where the frame was raised : unto your selfe, as to the lively patterne of that doctrine, ,vhich is here delivered. " Accept it as your owne, for it beares your name, and resembling you much endeavours to honour you long : so you shall encourage me daily to lessen my debt to the Church, and increase mine obliga­ tions unto yourselfe, that living and dying I may continue "Your most bounden Nephewt "John Boys." 61 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS "To· The Most Reverend Father in God, Richard Bancroft, Lord Archbishop of Canterburie, Primate of all England, and Metro­ politane, Chancellor of the Universitie of Oxford, and one of his Majesties most honourable Privie Counsell ; my Verie Good Lord, " As Christ, so the Church, and as the Church so the Liturgie of the Church is crucified betweene two Malefactors : on the left hand Papists, on the right hand Schismaticks : the one cannot say wherein it is truely deficient, the other will not say but that it is efficient, under which the Gospell hath so prospered, so that England is swept from Babel, and Hierusalem,situated in our owne country : yet both as at a common Turke shoot bitter arrowes against it. And the reason thereof is very plaine because every Pope is an open Schismaticke, and every Schismaticke a secret Pope. These Foxes (as Luther speakes) are tied together by the tayles, although by their heads they seeme to be contrarie : com­ bined in faction, howsoever different in faith. '' Against the Romanist I use a sword, against the Novelist a buckler, against armour a proofe : for these Scholiall Annotations in part descrie, but my larger expositions of the Gospels and Epistles hereafter shall more fully describe, their malicious or ignorant misconstruing of our Church. In the meane while, and for ever, I wish all happinesse to your Grace and rest your Humble Servant to be commanded in the businesse of God and the Church. " John Boys."

DEAN BARGRAVE Dean Bargrave died two years before his sister, Angela Boys, 1643. In 1629 he became closely connected with those unhappy times when rebellion and fanaticism trampled upon mitre and the Crown. He was fined £1,000 by the House of Commons, as a member of the Convocation in which he had dared to assert their right. The Parliament proposed what was afterwards effected, in I 641, the abolition of Deans and Chapter. The Act passed, although petitions on behalf of the clergy were numerous. But they were rejected by the wise reformers of those times. The hierarchy was deemed so rotten, that even " Botchers left old Cloaths in the lurch And sought to turn and patch the Church." In the previous August he had been seized by the Parliamentary forces and was in prison three weeks. If he had been imprisoned 62 REV. EDWARD BOYS OF MAUTBY in the Canterbury County Jail, still known as" The House of Cor-­ rection," he might have lived longer, but he was taken to London, and this treatment seems to have affected his health so" much that he died within six months. His son Robert outlived him, but his little grandson died 1639 and was buried in the Cathedral. The monument ran :

" Farewel, sweet Boy, and farewell all in thee, Blest Parents can in their best children see ; Thy Life, to woo us into Heaven, was lent us, Thy Death, to Wean us from the World is sent us."

Bargrave's own monument was most uncommon. It was a portrait of himself, painted on copper, in a white marble frame.

The Rev. Edward Boys of Mautby (1599-1667) was a nephew of the Dean, and son of Thomas Boys of Hoath Court. Educated at Eton and elected a scholar of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 35 years after the Dean had studied there, he became Rector of the tiny village of Mautby, near Yarmouth, Norfolk, and after 28 years' incumbency died, and was buried in the chancel of the church under a floor-slab. The rectory house was burnt down in his time, and he lost 2,000 books and the registers. He married Mrs. Mary Heme, but had no children. His excellent portrait engraved by Faithome was published with his sermons. With great difficulty his friend, Roger Flynt, obtained leave from the dying man to publish sixteen of his sermons, and only on condition nothing was said about himself. Boys was an admirable scholar, with exceptional powers as a preacher, and in great favour with Bishop Hall ; but he was deterred from seeking higher preferment by an exceeding modesty. It is said he became chaplain to Charles I, so that he would have been well acquainted with the Royal family. A tragic story is told of the death of Elizabeth, the famous beauty and rich heiress of Sir Robert Drury, Knight, at the siege of Rauen, 1591. She was destined to marry Henry, the eldest son of James I, but the poor girl died in 1610, aged only 15 years, it is said from the result of a box on the ears given by her father ; so if Edward Boys was the private chaplain, it is hoped he consoled the young prince.

E CHAPTER V

BETZHANGER AND NORTHBOURNE

HE estate of Betzhanger at the time of the Conquest was owned by Sir Robert Porch, one of the Captains of Dover T Castle. It was later in the possession of the Marney family, and John de Marney obtained a charter of free warren for this manor in the reign of Edward I. The estate was bought by Sir John Boys 1555, and left to his nephew Edward, son of Vincent of Bekesbourne, who commenced as a barrister about 1597, and removed to the Middle Temple. An extract from Edward's will states : " I give to the Warden, Brothers and Sisters of Jesus Hospital in Northgate, and their successors, after the death of my wife, £6 13s. 4d. yearly for ever out of certain lands called Ham Hopes, parcell of my wife's joynture lying in Sholden, and containing by estimation 16 acres, to be paid half yearly." "My wife" alluded to was Judith Wheeler, who died 1658. This charity is still paid yearly. Ham Hopes was part of the manor given by Alefreda, 934, to the monks of Christ Church. Later it became the ancestral seat of the Criols. Sir Thomas, a zealous adherent of the House of York, having fallen at the battle of St. Albans into the hands of the victor, the warlike and revengeful Margaret of Anjou, she ordered his execution, and enjoyed the bloody spectacle. His daughter married a Mr. Fogg,* whose daughter transferred the estate to Mr. Scot, and by marriage it was sold to Mr. Bois of Betzhanger. The Sandhills and forty-six acres known as French l\1arshes were also given by Lady Boys to the Hospital, 1641. Joan, daughter of Edward of Betzhanger, married Nicholas Darrett, LL.D., Prebendary of vVinchester, ,vho died 1629. They were both buried in the Cathedral, little as he deserved it, for he had removed the old cloisters and several old monuments of his­ torical interest. Another, prole pudor, cut down the great screen at Ivychurch because it prevented him seeing his congregation. He had been a naval chaplain under I~elson, and ,vas curate there for many years. He kept a bottle of rum in the vestry. John succeeded Ed,vard Boys at Betzhanger, and Dr. Brett states, " zealously sided ,vith the faction as far as the presbyterians

• 1461. John Fogge was treasurer of the Royal l-Iousehold, ,vlio founded the college at Ashford. 64 BETTESHANGER HOUSE were concerned, for he would not join the independants who bar- barously murdered the King " (Betz. Register). _ In 1659 John presented the Mayor of Canterbury with a declara­ tion in favour of the assembly of a Free Parliament, drawn up by himself on behalf (as he asserted) of the nobility, gentry, ministry, and community of the county of Kent. The declaration gave offence to the magistrates, and the author, as he explained in his Vindication of the Kentish Declaration, only escaped imprisonment by retiring to a hiding-place. Another account says he was made a prisoner in Dover Castle, but released a few months later. Several of his friends were less fortunate. In 1659 he went with his kinsman, Sir John Boys of Bonnington, by the advice of the gentlemen of Kent, and presented Monk, at Whitehall, with a letter of thanks, drawn up by himself. John was member for the county in the Long Parliament, which was dismissed by Cromwell. At a meeting of the Kent Archreo­ logical Society was read in recent years the fallowing note from the Betz. Register: " John Boys, although he did not approve of the murder of the King, joined the Presbyterean Party, and so brought a curse upon his family and was the last of his race ! " He certainly was not, for he had three wives and 13 children, including Je:fferay, a bencher of Gray's Inn, the father of Edward Grotius. John Boys prepared a speech for delivery to Charles II on his landing at Dover, 1660, but it ,vas not delivered as his Majesty made no stay in the town, but he sent Charles a copy of it. His sister Mary married Capell, Rector of Betteshanger, and Vicar of Tilmanstone, about 1630. John, who was moving in high circles of the county, took Robert Boys, of a poorer branch, and his very large family from Kingston to become tenant of the Betzhanger property. It seems kindred feeling alone towards the distant relative induced him and his wife Ann to promote their welfare, having no issue of their own. Thomas, son of John, was Rector of Betzhanger 1700, married his fifth cousin, a daughter of Robert Boys, who lived in the farm­ house 1670, and was the ancestor of the tenant's branch. The last Boys to own Betzhanger House \Vas Edward Grotius, who bequeathed it in 1706 to his cousin, Dr. Thomas Brett, who, because it was much encumbered and exhausted, sold it about 1716 to Captain Morrice, who rose to the rank of Admiral ; and later it came into the possession of his grandson, the Rev. - l\1orrice. The manor house was situated at the end of an avenue of trees, and was a spacious old oak-timbered building near the farm and small pond. Over the mantelshelf in the best parlour were the E2 65 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS letters " T .B. 1632. M.B." ; the old fireplace being practically the only thing of importance to be moved when the old place was pulled down and the new house in stone and brick in Jacobean style was built a short distance away ; on it was carved " Pax huic domni et omnibus habitantibus in ea " (Peace on this house and all dwelling in it). The marble has been much defaced. There was originally a big coat of arms in the centre, and shields of arms on either side, cut in stone and coloured, but they were removed by some iconoclast, or taken by the family on leaving Betzhanger. The first shield was for Sir John, who bequeathed the estate to his nephew, and if not placed on the fireplace in his lifetime, is evidently a compliment to his memory. The second shield was to Edward Boys, the first of the family to reside at Betzhanger. Edward the younger of Betzhanger married in 1662 Elizabeth Hamon, the great-great-granddaughter of the last Sir Stephen de Cossington, whose ancestors came over at the Conquest, and from this branch descended Brigadier-General Roland Boys Bradford, V.C., M.C., the knightly warrior, who at the age of 24 years became the youngest general in the British Army in the Great War. Unfor­ tunately he was killed aged 25. Nor must be forgotten his three brothers, only one of whom survived his wounds. Lieut.-Com­ mander George Nicholson Bradford, V.C., was killed at Zeebrugge, having volunteered to fasten the English ship to the lVIole. The estate, extending over 7,000 acres, was bought by Lord Northbourne, who did much to improve the property (1829). On the north-west of the estate are the open Downs and the site of a camp formed by the forces which lay there under Captain Peke to oppose the landing of the Spaniards of the Armada. An uncanny story was told by an old inhabitant whose duty it was to rise at daybreak and pass through the farm by the field gate. This gate, he declared, opened slowly of its own accord as he approached and closed when he had gone through " I never saw no ghosts, but it gave me de creep," he said. Passing through the lychgate to the little church reminds one of an anecdote of Canon Knox-Little, who found on a lychgate the inscription, " This is the Gate of Heaven," with underneath roughly written, " Go round the other way." The diminutive church of St. Mary originally dated back to the thirteenth century and was rebuilt in Norman style by Lord Northbourne, to whom the Boys family can offer a vote of thanks for the kind care he bestowed on this sacred building, in which so many of their ancestors are interred. While the foundations for a heating apparatus were being dug a skeleton was found and declared to be identified as a member of the Boys family from its " high cheek bones and big 66 NORTHBOURNE LEGENDS beak " for which the family are noted, in addition to their blue eyes. On a black slab is seen " Siste Viator." Here also are the two yew trees planted by Henry, 1st Viscount Hardinge; and the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, lvl.P., planted the same day (August, 1854), men alike remarkable for patriotism. But no one dare say which was planted by either man in case trippers should strip the boughs. Another yew stands on the opposite side of the churchyard, planted by Sir John Boys when he owned the property over 400 years ago. It would be interesting to make a record of the trees planted by famous people, among which would come the rose tree planted by Queen Adelaide in Lord Farnborough's Italian garden at Bromley Hill, Byron's Oak at Newstead, Shakespeare's Mulberry and Pope's Willow. Also one could not forget the famous Royal Oak Tree at Boscobel House, Shropshire, where Charles lay hidden from his enemies. Many saplings were grown from its acorns. One young tree sprung from it, planted in the Queen's pleasure gardens at St. James's Palace, was known as " King's Royal Oak," but unfortunately it was destroyed by order of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough~ as soon as her husband obtained the land on which was built Marlborough House. Two other trees were also planted on the north of the Serpentine, but were blighted by a severe frost early last century. In Betzhanger churchyard is seen the old font taken from Northbourne Abbey and two piers with carvings of four apostles and four prophets. In Edward Il's reign Little Betzhanger House was owned by Ralph de Betzhanger. It was bought by Edward Boys, 1625, and his descendant left it to Dr. Thomas Brett, while it later became the property of Viscount Bolingbroke. Near here was found by William Boys, the historian, the Astragalus glycphyllos, or wild liquorice, which is extremely rare and never observed elsewhere. Presumably this was the new fern he found and which was called Sterna Boysii. Adjoining Betzhanger is Northbourne, which was given to Christ Church by Erdbald, King of Kent, 619. An old house and one of the most spacious barns in the country are all that is left of it now. Under the wall is a remarkable dungeon-like chamber with '' coversheped '' ceiling, and there is a strange story connected with it. Standing at the bottom of the monastery garden, it was known as" Purgatory." From this place of punishment, surrounded by water, no prisoner could escape. Here two children were starved to death, and it is a fact that two little skeletons were found within the Abbey walls. Some declare they were the remains of two young princes, Ethelbert and Ethelred, cousins of Egbert, King of 67 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Kent, who had them murdered, 66 5, on the advice of his Seneschal, Thunor. One skull was found with a long pin in it. Again legend says, " A lambent flame hovered continually over the sacred spot where the remains were deposited, and Egbert, in atonement for the innocent blood he had shed, built two monasteries, one at Minster in Thanet, the other, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, situated on the very spot where St. Mary's, Sandwich, now stands, which church was destroyed by the Danes, and again repaired by Queene Cauntus, his wife. The second church was destroyed by the French in Richard II's reign, but as late as 1529 an Anchoress had her cell at the east end of the same church." But to return to Northbourne Manor. Elizabeth granted a lease of it for life to her foster-brother Saunders. At his death it re­ turned to the Crown, and Sir Edward Sandy obtained a grant of it from James I in consideration of the eminent services which he had performed for that monarch at his accession. Sir Edmund Sandy rebuilt the adjoining mansion and left it to his son, Colonel Sandy, the rebel, who arrived suddenly in Canterbury at the head of an armed force. Their hostile appearance, it was pretended, was for the security of religion. They began, however, by defacing the beautiful Cathedral and by terrifying the family of Dean Bargrave (who was absent) by their violent intrusion into the Deanery at night. Regardless even of the respect due to the weaker sex, they treated the Dean's wife and aged sister, Angela Boys (now aged 88 years), with the most unmanly behaviour, even threatening them with pillage. By the persuasion of one of the family they restored the gold they had unjustly seized, but their treatment of the Dean's son was more brutal. They summoned him from bed and carried him off prisoner to Dover Castle, while Sandy even tried to blacken the young man's character. The Dean suf­ fered still more. He was seized at Gravesend, Sandy having rushed with his banditti into his bedroom and made him prisoner, and without any reason hurried him to London into Fleet Prison, which, as everyone knows, was like " hell " in those days. Meanwhile Sandy's troops " brake down the carved work in the Cathe­ dral, destroying the monument of Sir John Boys " and converted the place into a stable for their horses. But Sandy was not to get off free from punishment from the Royalists. He received a mortal wound in a vigorous encounter bet,veen Pr1nce Rupert and himself at Worcester and, it is said, " died with the fortitude of a Christian and a soldier.'' The manor was then bought by his neighbour, Bois of Betzhanger, 1630, but it returned later into the possession of its ancient owners.

68 CHAPTER VI

SANDWICH AND DEAL

HE first authentic record of the town of Sandwich is mentioned in the life of Wilfrid, Bishop of Northumberland, T who on his return from France, 664, says : " They landed happily and pleasantly in the Haven "-now broken into flats. "Christmas 1131. On that Monday night after the first sleep, was the heaven on the Northern hemisphere all as if it were burning fire ; so that all who saw it were so dismayed as they never were before. This same year there was a murrain of cattle as never was before in the memory of man over all England. It was in cattle and in swine, so that in Towns where there were 10 ploughs there was not one left. Afterwards perished the hen fowls, then the shortage of fresh meat began, and the cheese and butter. During the 19 wintets of Stephen's reign the people suffered untold hard­ ships from hunger.'' In 1216 the Barons invited the French to assist them against King John, and Lewis the Dauphin set sail with 700 vessels, and on meeting no resistance sailed into the port, which they plundered and burnt. During the contention between the Houses of York and Lancaster, Charles VII of France equipped two fleets to annoy the English ; one of them, under Sir Peter Bre:ffrey, came to Sand­ wich, landed 4,000 men, pillaged the town, killed the Mayor, and murdered many inhabitants ; the Mayor bears a black wand to this day in memory of the tragic event. Again, when the French attempted invasion they made a wall of wood to protect themselves from the English archers. It was 20 ft. high and 3,000 paces long; at every 12 ft. was a tower large enough to hold 12 men, and 10 ft. higher than the wall. A part of the material, with the machines for throwing stones and other artillery, was put on large vessels, which with the artist who had made the wall were captured by the English. The walls were brought to Sandwich, as Lambard says, "to our great safety and the repulse of the French." A collection of shells found near the town in 1784 are believed to have come from the French guns, and are preserved in Sandwich Town Hall. Many French settlers came here to escape the persecution of the Duke of Alva and established the manufacture of flannels. The town, like Droitwich and Norv;ich, is noted for its salt springs, and its Wych-houses where salt is boiled. UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS The old port still retains its narrow streets, but since the harbour silted up the town has ceased to be of much importance, except to golfers, who will say its prosperity is derived from the famous St. George's Golf Club, where as much as £1,000 a year has been known to be paid to caddies. . Queen Elizabeth intended to visit the town in July 1573, and the Archbishop made all preparations for her reception at Canterbury, " but the lord Cobham coming out of Kent, and signifying that the mezels and the smallpox reigned in Canterbury, and the plague at Sandwich it caused some stop of the Queen, but she set forward at the end of the month." In this year John Boys, gent., of St. Gregories was Steward of the Court and Town's Council, being also M.P. for the town. Thirty years earlier John Boys of Denton had held the same post, and was described as " who was bred to the law and died 1543." The old Elizabethan house where the Queen is reported to have slept still retains its wonderful carvings, and much has been discovered in it in recent years. "On the 5th April 1578, about 5 p.m., there was heard from the S.W. a marvelouse great noyfe, as thoughe the Same had been the fhott of fome greate batterie or a nomber of canons fhott off at one inftante withoute decemying of any dyfference of tyme in the going of the same fhott. Which noyfe femed to be, from the place whereas yt was herde, as thoughe ye had been mydwaie betweene Calleis and Dover, and yet thanks to God dyd little harme, saving that in thende of the Northe vale of St Peter's Churche yt fhaked downe the gable and copinge of the gable ende thereof." Sir Roger Manwood was one of the commissioners for the trial of Mary Queen of Scots ; later he incurred the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth, but he first induced Archbishop Parker to be instrumental in obtaining a grant for his boys' school, which is now a private residence. In his will he left some remembrance to his cousin, Capt. John Boys. Among the masters of Manwood School was one Richard Culmer, who made a forcible entry and regained his position against all comers for several years. Wm. Boys identifies him with a certain Puritan iconoclast nicknamed " Blue Dick,"* who was very active in the destruction of the large window in the Cathedral ; he had destroyed three-quarters of it, and then found steps to reach higher, when fortunately a brick thrown at his head brought him down. Sir Peter Manwood left legacies to Margaret, da. of Edward of Betzhanger, and the wife of George Boys, gent. He and his father

• " Blue Dick " was for some time Vicar of Goodnestone. 70 ',\,~ . . \?:/t t: ·-~.·~;,;_.~,./.,,~

ST. CLEMENT'S CHURCH, SANDWICH, 1826 SAND\VICH

OLD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AT SANDWICH OLD SANDWICH, 1793 ST. CLEMENT'S CHURCH, SANDWICH

EDMUND PARBO'S LEG.t\CIES had paid regularly the rents and salary to the school, but his son, Sir John Manwood, Knight, took the issues to his own use, so that in 1634 an inquisition was taken, and a return made by .Sir Edward Boys and Thomas Deene, who ordered that the Governors should enter into the several estates (left to the school) and take the rents and hold and enjoy the same for ever and that the said mayor and jurats shali pay to the schoolmaster all arrears of salary and 40 pounds for damages. Edmund Parbo, Esq., whose handsome legacy to the school has by some means been lost, was descended from the Parbos of Cheshire. His daughter Elizabeth married Capt. John Boys, who in his will left to his grandson and godchild, Edmund Boys, his great silver salt cellar and his 6 square silver trenchers belonging to it, also 2 silver cans, one silver beer bowl with 5 marks of arms engraved thereon, his gold ring with seal on it, one feather bed, 2 pairs of best sheets, 2 pillows, 2 blankets, a tapestry covering in the hall, one long damask tablecloth, 2 dozen Holland napkins, 6 best Turkey cushions, a carved damask chest, a Cyprus desk, one dozen pewter dishes, one iron dripping pan, and a bright brass pot. " To his said Godson and to his grandchild Nicholas Boys all his books, to be equally divided between them, except what his wife shall chufe, and such as he has sent to Lincoln College, Oxford, and to the free school at Sandwich. All his Estates in Eastry, Sandwich, etc., to his wife for life, then to his daughter for life, then to her sons Edmund and Nicholas Boys, and in failure of their male issue to George Parbo, his nephew." Among the troubles of these times there were many family quarrels, one of which from the fallowing will seem to have ended happily:- " From the family Bible of R. Fogg, Tilmanstone: 31st July 1639. Birth. Godfather. Edward. Edward Boys, Betzhanger. 2nd June 1641. John. John Boys, Elmston. 11th July 1644. My dear Ann died of convulsion Fitts occasioned by Sir Edward Boys' troops coming to my house often in search of me to plunder me."

Thus it is suggested Mr. Fogg had been implicated in the Kentish rising, 1643, and its defeat at Faversham. Later he seems to have remained in hiding until the rising was over, and so escaped capture and was more fortunate than many of his friends. The family quarrel soon passed, as on 25th June 1649 71 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS there is a record in the same Bible of Ann Fogg marrying Christopher Boys of Uffington, afterwards Captain of Walmer Castle. At Deal, September 1692, there was a severe earthquake shock felt early in the afternoon, when the houses all shook and were ready to fall down. In Deal Castle, although the walls are of vast thickness and strength, they shook so much that the inhabitants were afraid that they would fall on their heads. John, the eldest son of Captain Boys of Deal, married Amy Sampson, by whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, and a son named Sampson, all born at Deal. It is believed that this John Boys was the Post Master of Sherborne in 1692. It will be realised that it was an important post, as that town was one of the last to surrender to the Parliamentary forces in the West Country. In the Lady Chapel of Sherborne in recent years has been unearthed a stone Saxon coffin with the bones of King Ethel­ bert, who reigned over the West Saxons in 860. He was ineffectual, and seems to have come by an early death at the hands of his pro­ spective father-in-law ; he was thrown into the River Lugg by his murderers, the body being saved later by his friends. His brother's coffin was found 67 years previously. The two men were brothers of Alfred the Great. Sampson Boys the Younger of Sherborne was born in 1701; he married Agnes Worsley and used for his crest a -very large seal with the rampant lion quartered with a griffon. Their descendant was John Boys, M.D., of London, ob. 1808, whose son, Captain Charles Worsley Boys, R.N., lost his leg while acting as captain of the leading ship, the " Old Regulus," in the Walcheren Expe­ dition* under the incompetent Earl of Chatham. Later a letter was received by Mr. Addington, the Speaker in the House, from Admiral Sir Alexander Hood on the " Royal George " at sea, 3rd June 1794, mentioning the great joy with which he could write of his complete victory over the fleets of the enemy. In this letter is mentioned the Speaker's " little friend," 1vir. Boys, who was wounded in the leg, an amputation being immediately performed above the knee by Mr. Sheppard, " a most skilful surgeon, who tells me he will do well and is in high spirits.­ Ever your faithful and affectionate humble servant, Alex. Hood." "P.S.-A partial action took place of the enemy on the 28th, when the ' Revolutionaire ' effected his escape into a French port, who I suppose the ' Audacious ' have conducted to England

* At Dovercourt in Essex is to be seen a stained glass windo,v given by a Gennan Emperor in memory of the British soldiers ,vho died of disease con­ tracted in the ill-fated Walcheren Expedition. 72 PROFESSOR CHARLES VERNON BOYS before the time. We have six French hulks now in tow; one sank, the second at night.-Farewell.'' _ Captain John Harvey, who took part in the defence of.Gibraltar, was killed in this glorious I st of June victory. Captain Charles Boys was very much a society man and a noted dancer, it being said that with his wooden leg he was a better dancer than many with two natural ones. He was so like Bonnie Prince Charles that it became his nickname ; he died six months after the birth of his son Charles, who later not only had the friendship of such an important man as Lord Sidmouth, but was also a friend of Sir John Conroy, Bart., who brought him into contact with Princess Victoria, for whom he made kites and toys. The Duchess of Kent obtained for him the living of Wing, in Rutland, where he remained 59 years, having had several children and innumerable grand- and great-grandchildren (they should be called little-grandchildren). ( C.V .B.) Capt. Charles Boys married a daughter of Vulliamy, the famous Swiss clockmaker, whose son, George John Vulliamy ( 1817-1886), the architect, designed the pedestal and sphinxes for Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment. · Unfortunately all the private papers belonging to the Rev. Charles Boys of Wing were burnt in a fire at the Tower of London when Mr. Bower, his uncle, held an appointment there. The youngest son of the Rev. Charles is Professor Charles Vernon Boys, A.R.S.M., F.R.S., who was educated at Marlborough and the Royal School of !\,lines. He invented integrating machines ; radio-micrometer (for measuring minute heat radia­ tion) ; quartz fibres (now in universal use) ; experiments with soap bubbles ; new apparatus with which he weighed the earth ; recording, integrating and other cab meters for gas testing ; and he photographed bullets in flight and the air effects round them. Awarded Royal and Rumford Medals by the Royal Society and the Duddell Medal by the Physical Society. His portrait, which is produced, was painted by the Hon. John Collier and exhibited in the Academy 1915. The third son of Captain John was William of Deal and after­ wards of Sandwich; he married Elizabeth Dibbs, widow of Thomas, a captain of a ship in the Turkey trade, and their son is described as being a woollen draper ; for by now, although descended from the ancient family, partly by misfortune, partly by misconduct, the patrimony of his family was wholly alienated from the family of his grandfather. His grandson, "\Villiam of Sandwich, who was born at Deal, must have risen through his own exertions, for he was given a grammar school education with a view to qualifying for the ministry, but was sent to sea 1717, when he was imme- 73 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS diately rated as a midshipman, and taken to the East Indies. The fallowing article is taken from his book :- " A Shortened Account of the Loss of the Luxborough.'' By William of Deal, Governor of Greenwich Hospital.

"After the peace of Utrecht, the English obtained the exclusive privilege of furnishing the Spanish Colonies with negroes ; and a company of merchants, under the name of Assients, or South Sea Co., was formed for that business. " The Luxborough Galley, commanded by Captain William Kellaway, a fine new ship, of 340 tons and 26- guns, was fitted up and used for the purpose. She sailed from the Downs 21st October 1725 for the coast of Guinea, and arrived safe at Cabenda, where Captain Kellaway took in 600 slaves. They had a good passage to Jamaica, but lost 203 negroes and 8 white men from smallpox. The sufferings of those poor wretches is beyond descrip­ tion. October 1726 the vessel was used in the King's Service and laden with provisions and stores for Admiral Hofier's fleet on the Spanish Main. After some time they took in goods for England, and on the 26th April 1727, in the night, they sprang a leak, which was so bad they had to take out the whole cargo, and heave the ship down. They sailed 23rd May, three days after the fleet, but the vessel being a prime sailer soon joined in the Windward Passage-but leaving them near Bem1udas. "On the 23rd May 1727 they sailed from Jamaica to London, and on the 25th June were again near Crooked Island. Just before lunch that day the Captain's cook discovered flames through the lining of the forecastle. Two black boys had been sent to draw off a bottle of rum for the boatswain and carpenter, when observing some liquor on the deck, out of an unhappy curiosity to discover whether it were spirit or water, put a candle to it, and in an instant the whole was in a blaze. In a very short time it was found necessary to leave the boat as nothing could save it. One boat was successfully launched, and 22 men and boys crowded into her. Sixteen men and boys left in the vessel attempted to launch the long boat, but without success, and they perished at the end of three hours, when the powder room took fire and exploded and the vessel sank out of sight. The remaining vessel was at least 120 leagues from land. It was then found the absolute distress. they were in-not an atom of food or anything to drink, three· oars and a piece of a blade of an oar, a rudder, a tiller, some rope . yarns, a calking mallet, some small nails, a part of a pewter basin, a needle and some twine. Captain Kellaway had in his pocket a. snuffbox full of Spanish snuff. It was a silver box, and when 74 PROFESSOR C. V. BOYS, 1925 (From the painting b)' tbe Hon. John Collier)

THE SHIPWRECKED CREW empty he gave it to William Boys, and he prized it highly ; but it was stolen from him many years after by a servant, and could never be traced. The sensation of hunger was not so- urgent as the constant endeavour to alleviate the torment of thirst. After the death of several of the crew it was suggested by the surgeon, Mr. Scrimfour, a man of the utmost humanity, that it was neces- sary to resort to the eating of part of the dead bodies and drinking their blood, and resolute to set us an example ate the first mouthful himself, but at the second mouthful turned his face away and wept. On the seventh day in the forenoon the numbers were reduced to 12. July 7th they took a formal leave of each other and lay down at the bottom of the boat covered with a bit of sail. In the afternoon William Boys, the second mate, shifted his position and suddenly cried, ' Land, land ! ' Life again seemed to return to the men. Two dead bodies were thrown overboard, and with a favourable wind, a little sail, and two oars again at work, they were sighted by a vessel, who at first took them for Indians. At 8 p.m. they were helped ashore at Old St. Lawrence's harbour, Newfoundland, which place was only inhabited in the fishing season by the ·crews of the European vessels employed in the cod fishery. Mr. Scrimfour did not think any one. had slept since they left the ' Luxborough ' till they landed on the island. Captain Kellaway died the following morning, having been speechless for 30 hours. No one could walk for eleven days, their sufferings being most acute. July 2nd the party commenced their return to England, where they arrived at Bideford Harbour October 1st. The boat in which they had spent their terrible adventure was built at Deal 1725 ; she was 16 ft. long and 5 ft. 3 in. broad and 2 ft. 3 in. deep, with eight streaks, pretty sharp for rowing well, and made to row four oars." Of the five survivors Thomas Scrim­ four, the surgeon, died aged 80 ; William Batten, always unfortunate, was drowned; William Gibbs, the carpenter, died master of a man­ of-war at Lisbon 1735; Robert Kellaway, nephew of the captain, died mate of the " Essex Indiaman " ; George Mould, seaman, died at Greenwich Hospital, aged 82 years. William Boys became a Captain, and while in command of a ship in the Indian Ocean lost his false teeth in a tornado, and on his return to England was surprised to hear the Admiralty were generously supplying him with new ones. He was Commodore of His Majesty's ships in the Thames, then made Lieut.-Governor of the Royal Hospital at Greenwich, with its nine acres, which had been converted into a home for old disabled seamen and the widows and children of those who had lost their lives in the service, and for the encouragement of navigation. It is an asylum worthy of its founder; one wing cost Charles II £36,000, and was designed 75 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS as a palace ; then William III granted the site as a hospital ; Queen Anne and George I continued the design, and George II finished it. In a room off the Painted Hall are still seen a series of paintings depicting the adventures of William Boys and his con1panions after the shipwreck, which originally hung in his son's library. Captain Boys died aged 74, and was buried in the Presbyterian cemetery at Deal. On his monument are described his adventures with the addition: "Mr. Boys during the remainder of his life kept those 13 days sacred. As he advanced in life and arrived at a com­ mand in the Royal Navy, he had for his seal, which he always used for his letters, a device of a ship on fire, with a boat putting off from her, "1ith the following motto : ' From Fire, Water and Famine by Providence preserved.'" He married Elizabeth Pearsons ; their eldest child, Jane, married a Dissenting Minister ; their second daughter married Sir Henry Harvey, Vice-Admiral of the Red, knighted and invested with the ensigns of the Order of the Bath, 1800.

THE w HITE FRIARS Henry Cowfield, a German, in 1272 founded the White Friars, a priory in Sandwich, and this came to possess certain privileges of sanctuary. No further notice of them is mentioned until the Dissolution. Their house, garden and meadows covered about five acres ; the gate of the convent opened into the moat, where an old avenue, planted by the monks, is still in existence. The seal formerly used by the Friars is still preserved ; it is made of copper in oval form on which is a patriarchel, sable and key and the other side a crescent. (St. Johannis Patriarch Jerusalem.) In 1614 the monastery was sold to Nicholas Richardson, who settled it on his daughter upon her marriage to Edmund Parbo. Later, upon the property being divided, it was sold to Sir Robert Peyton of Cambridge, but seems to have again returned to the Boys family, and it is believed that Dr. \Vm. Boys, son of the Governor, lived here while in practice. Dr. Wm. had been born at Deal, studied for the medical profession, and became a surgeon, being appointed to look after the sick and wounded at Deal. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Wise of the Sandwich pilots, and had two children. In 1761 he was elected jurat ; the same year his wife died, and he married Jane Fuller, coheiress of her uncle, John Paramour cf Stantenborough, who died leaving him with eight or nine more children. He was a modest, unassuming man. Between 1767-1782 (in v.rhich years he was l\!Iayor of Sandwich) he investigated the history of his native to\\rn, which resulted in his obtaining the F ellovvship 76 NOTES OF THE FAMILY PEDIGREE of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Linnean Society. This history of Sand,vich, beautifully illustrated by himself, was published in 1792, and is notable for his research on Richborough Castle, for his skill in editing manuscripts, and for his knowledge of natural history.* As a commissioner of sewers, on behalf of the Corporation, he wrote an article on a scheme for the draining of a large stretch of neighbouring land. This was published anonymously in Can­ terbury. He gave up his practice and went to Walmer, but returned three years later and died of apoplexy 1803, being buried in St. Clement's, an ancient helmet hanging over his tomb. Writing of St. Clement's bells, he said : " There are five bells not very tuneable, and consequently of little use but to hasten the downfall of the venerable steeple to which they are hung." These were sold in 1866.. The old custom of ring.ing the curfew bell lapsed in Sand­ wich in 1852 for two months, when the Corporation resolved to resume it and matin bells. For years William Boys must have studied the family pedigree, but it is str~ge that this clever man should have gone so far as to refuse to own his fifth cousins and declared them'' no kin at all,'' although they lived only a few miles away. Was it because they were farming land ? Such an unjust statement might have been handed down to posterity as an historical fact had not research and acquaintance with Kentish records been not quite extinct in the family; for a few years later Edward Wm. Boys and his father of the Tenants' branch commenced a most extensive search and proved that the pedigree was not only incomplete, but false in this statement, and that "the Tenants" had every right to claim " founder's kin " if in need. " It is not wished to question the motive of Dr. Boys, who supplied the statement even to Mr. Hasted, who seemed ready to believe anything, as in the Chandos case, but it is only fair to presume that the same feeling \\?hich moved him to disclaim connection with this branch would also have induced him to boast of the relationship had he known that the' Tenant's wife' (Mary Harvey) was a legitimate lineal descend­ ant of not only many great men of the Middle Ages in England, but a connection of many kings of Europe, as proved by the Pedigree (published in Part II). Unquestionably but for these reasons I should not have troubled myself with diving into the genealogy of my ancestors as I have now done ; but, whilst I kno,v • Wm. Boys' own copy of Sandwich, with letters and his letter to Pennant asking him to assist Hasted, with Pennant's caustic note on the back and of the same date, Hasted's receipt for £5 5s. to Boys (apparently a loan which was evidently never repaid), are in the possession of Dr. F. W. Cock of Ashford, who also holds the probates of the Wills of the three generations of Hawkhurst dating back to 1512. 77 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS full well the contempt which some persons entertain at the bare mention of the word 'pedigree,' I beg, in the exercise of my own right of opinion upon that point, at least to remark that, although talents, merit, good fortune, or chance may raise thousands of subjects from poverty to affluence, and although the Sovereign may of royal favour grant titles and create peerages and other distinctions, yet neither talents nor prosperity nor any earthly power can dispense the honour of ancestry to him who has it · inherently ; and it is a birthright of that order which is equally beyond the reach of all human power to take away." (Capt.E. W. Boys, 1852.)

Following is the letter written by Elizabeth, aged about 17 years, daughter of Dr. Wm. Boys, on her refusal of marriage with Mr. Whittack: '' Could Elizabeth Boys flatter herself that one was possessed with half of the qualities that Mr. Whittack so obligingly ascribes to her she should esteem herself the happiest of mortals. But she considers her own unworthiness convinces her that the praises he so lavishly bestows upon her are far from being the real senti­ ments of his heart, but she attributes it entirely to Mr. Whittack's excessive politeness which is conspicuous on every occasion." Elizabeth (1759-1780) married Wm. Rolf, and died leaving a baby son Rolf, who lived to become a great antiquarian. He never married, but died aged nearly ninety. His collection of antiques was left to Mr. Joseph Mayer of Liverpool in order to ensure its preservation to public accessibility. The original letter and her baby rattle, engraved with her initials, are to be seen in the Town Hall, Sandwich. The Rolfs were from Bull Farm, Braborne, and were allied with the Hobbs. Dr. Wm. Boys, by his second wife, left a most noted family; his second son, Thomas, became a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy, and his son the Rev. Thomas Boys was a theologian and antiquary. Born at Sandwich, educated at Tonbridge and Trinity College, Cambridge, where failure of his health from over study prevented his taking more than an ordinary degree, he found an active life necessary, so he entered the Army with a view to becoming a military chaplain. He was made Assistant Paymaster-General to H.M. Forces in the Peninsular War under Wellington, a very important post, as the actual Paymaster-General was not an active official. Thomas was wounded in three places at the Battle of Toulouse and gained the Peninsular medal. Toulouse stands on the right bank of the Garonne. Early on Easter Sunday, 1814, orders were given by Wellington to advance. Beresford was in 78 CAPTAIN \V:M. BOYS~ 1700 1774- DR. \VILLIA~I BOYS LIEUT.-GOVERNOR OF THE ROY.AL OF SAND\VICH, HOSPITAL, GREENWICH 17...,·-180~.,, :,

HENRY IL.\)I:\lEL ALVEZ BOYS AND HIS \VIFE

\VILLIAM BOYS OF \VILLESBOROCGH, \V. A. BOYS, K.C., lv1.P., BARRIE, ONTARIO 1775-1865

THE Bl\. TTLE OF TOULOUSE charge of two divisions, and he boldly crossed the valley, driving the French cavalry brigade in front of their position before his line ; but as they closed upon the enemy's position his troops ,vere exposed to so deadly a fire that they lost their formation, and during the confusion the French, leaping out of their entrenchments, drove them down the hill with great slaughter and pursued them to the bridge of Ero, where a brigade of the light division galloped to the support under Lord Wellington, which checked the hot pursuit of the foe and rallied together the fugitives. Lord Welling­ ton is reported to have said he wondered " whether the Pyrenees would bring them up again ! '' And yet another anecdote says the catastrophe drew from him the ironical remark that '' he had seen many curious sights, but never before saw ten thousand men running a race." What would he have said in the Great War when the Portuguese fled? For in that very country a priest said: " Portuguese men join their army to be fed and clothed, not to be shot "! At the Battle of Toulouse one portion of the English army had rushed forward with levelled bayonets, and an appalling shout was given when it seemed the hostile lines must be the next moment locked together in the bayonets' bloody embrace. But the English won the day ; Lord Wellington summoned Soult to surrender the town, the brave man replying he would bury himself in the ruins first. But two days later, finding it impossible to hold on, he surrendered, and Wellington entered Toulouse in triumph, but he had lost 4,650 in killed and wounded. Whilst Thomas Boys was still in Portugal he spent his leisure time in translating the Bible into Portuguese, a task so well done that his version was adopted by Protestants and Catholics, and Dom Pedro I publicly thanked him for his gift to the nation. Making his reputation as a Hebrew scholar, he became teacher of that language to the Jews at Hackney College, and professor at the Missionary College, Islington. He revised Deodati's Italian Bible and also the Arabic. His acquaintance with the literature of Jewish antiquities was most thorough ; and his tvvelve papers on Chaucer difficulties are a most valuable contribution to the study of early English literature. His article on " The Steam \Vave " was read by Charles Babbage, F .R.S., at a meeting of the Royal Society in 1842 ; and his Peninsular experiences were published in Blackwood's }Jagazine, 1849. Henry, the sixth son of Dr. William of Sandwich, also went through the Peninsular War as a surgeon, and while there married Maria Alvez, a connection of one of the premiers of Portugal. She was a wonderful won1an-very 1nuch above the ordinary, very capable and a great favourite. F 79 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Henry held some official position which kept him abroad for many years after the war was over. It will be remembered that for some time after the Napoleonic wars rather stringent economic conditions prevailed throughout England, which necessitated many persons going to the Colonies. Dr. Henry Boys was one of these ; he had already been made a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and the following extracts were given to the public by his son, and are found In Canterbury Cathedral Library Extracts from notes taken by the father of Henry Boys from two ancient inscriptions on lead found in the Cathedral ; one called the Tomb of Theobald, who erected the first organ in the Cathedral. Extracts from letter to John Latham.

May 31st, 1804, and June 7th, 1804. DEAR SIR,-In drawing up this essay, I have endeavoured as much as possible to use my father's own words, yet had he lived to com­ plete it himself, we may suppose he would have substituted some­ thing very different from his rough notes, etc. . . . Should you think it worthy of public notice you are at liberty to present it to the public Society of Antiquarians, with the accompanying plans of lead. Yours most sincerely, H. Bovs.

Inscription on Lead. "Theobard, a Benedictine Monk, was prior of Bee in Normandy, from whence he was promoted to the see of Canterbury after it had been vacant (by the death of William Corbail) two years, one month, and a few days, during which time the King had seized the revenues of the see, and appropriated them to his own use. " He was elected prior to the convent of Christ Church in December 1138, and consecrated by Albericus, the Pope's legate, on the vi Jan. 8, 1139, and died on the 13 Kal. May (18th April) 1161, having been Archbishop 22 years. He was buried on the 23rd at the north side of the chapel of the Holy Trinity in a stone coffin within a tomb of marble. After the fire, 1174 (13 years after his interment), his body, in its vestments, was removed to a leaden coffin, and reposed in a tomb of marble or stone like the former, in the nave of the church before St. Mary's altar, where it was found 1787. '' On the 20th February, 1787, the workmen began to take up the old pavement in the body of the cathedral, and in levelling the ground for a new pavement at the east end of the north aisle a leaden coffin was found a little below the surface, containing the 80 DISCOVERIES FROM CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL remains of a body that had been wrapped in a robe of velvet, or rich silk, fringed with gold ; these remains, in a robe of leather, were much decayed. In the coffin was likewise an inscription on a plate of lead in capital letters engraved in double strokes with a sharp instrument. The lead is much broken and affected by the aerial acid and the letters are practically so, the calx filling all the strokes and rising above the surface of the founder metal ; from whence it appears that the surface was covered with paint or varnish, through which the strokes were cut into the substance of the lead, and thereby left exposed to the air."

In November, 1789, in the paving of the chapter house of the Cathedral of Canterbury, was discovered, about 4 inches below the pavement, a stone coffin, with a distinct cavity for the head, in which lay a skull ; the other bones had been displaced, and were wrapped in leather, or a hide much decayed. About the rniddle of the coffin within was found a piece of lead formed rudely into a shape of a square in a square box ; on three contiguous sides is an inscription cut with the point of a sharp instrument in capital letters, the whole affected by the aerial acid in the manner of the plate already described. (J. BOYS, Archceologia, no. xv.) HIC . RCQESCT . PIE l\tiemorie Almervs Prior : Qui Dormi. VITINXPO . V . IDVS . MAIi. Elmer, Ailmer or Almer, as the name is differently written, was a learned monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, of plain, inoffensive manners and exemplary piety. He was made Prior to the convent, 1128, upon the removal of Prior Gosfred to Dunfermline in Scotland, and died in 1137.

Dr. Henry Boys settled on land near Whitby, a few miles east of the town of Toronto; but later, owing to some flaw in the land title, he gave up the property at the suggestion of the then Governor -Simcoe-his personal friend. He was made Bursar of old King's College, the predecessor of the present University of Toronto, and in this connection he was recently the subject of a rather laudatory article which appeared in one of the University magazines, recounting information connected with earlier bursars of the University, and which gave a cut of Dr. Henry as he then appeared. He retired to Barrie, north of Toronto, where he died, aged 93 years ; here his son was successfully engaged in business. Of F2 81 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS his descendants must not be forgotten the famous Judge Boys, of Barrie, Ontario, whose son, William Alves, K.C., taking up political work, became M.P. for Simcoe. He married Sophie, daughter of the Rev. Canon Reiner, v1hose father was private tutor to the Royal Family. Yet another descendant of Henry Boys, after a splendid education, started life under rather straitened circumstances, but lived to become prosperous as a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange ; while yet another son lives in Texas. No wonder Dr. William Boys was proud of his family! Before closing his branch, his fourth son, Edward, must be mentioned, who became surgeon at the Royal Hospital, Deal ; and lastly, his third son, John Paramour, who married Jane Hartley; he was made a Captain in the 3rd West India Regiment, and died at Tours in France, 1822. CHAPTER VI[

SIR JOHN BOYS OF ST. GREGORIES, FOUNDER OF JESUS HOSPITAL

IR JOHN BOYS of St. Gregories was the 5th son of William of Nonington and Mary Ryngeley, 1535-1612. He Smarried, first, Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Pawley of London, merchant; and, secondly, Jane, daughter and coheiress of Tho. Walker, gent., citizen of London. The latter died 1635, aged 73 years, and was buried at Great Missenden. He had two children, Dorothy and Roger, but both died as infants. Sir John ,vas Judge of the Chancery Court for the Cinque Ports, and Recorder of the City of Canterbury. He lived in the " Old Dutch House," 27 Palace Street, which is best described by Dickens in David Copperfield ; it then belonged to Mr. Wickfield, who declared the place was as quiet as a monastery and almost as roomy ; but there he lived his monotonous life in the dull old house. David Copperfield and his aunt arrived in Canterbury on market day, and at length "we stopped," he says, "before a very old house bulging out over the road : a house with long low lattice-windows bulging out still farther, and beams with carved heads on the ends bulging out too, so that I fancied the whole house was leaning forward, trying to see who was passing on the narrow pavement below. It was quite spotless in its cleanliness. The old-fashioned brass knocker on the low arched door, ornamented with carved garlands of fruit and flowers, twinkled like a star ; the two stone steps descending to the door were as white as if they had been covered with fair linen ; and all the angles and comers and carvings and mouldings, and quaint little panes of glass, and quainter little windows, though as old as the hills, were as pure as any snow that ever fell upon the hills .... We went into his [Mr. Wickfield's] turret office on the ground floor. It looked into a garden, and had an iron safe let into the wall ; so immediately over the mantelshelf that I wondered, as I sat down, how the sweeps got round it when they swept the chimney. The narrow passage ended in . a little circular room." (Arrangements were made for David Copperfield to stay in the house, and he continues:) " We accordingly went up a wonderful old staircase, with a balustrade so broad that we might have gone up that, almost as easily; and into a shady old drawing room, lighted by some three or four of the quaint ,vindows I had looked up at from the street: 83 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS which had old seats in them, that seemed to have come of the same trees as the shining oak floor, and the great beams in the ceiling. It was a prettily furnished room, with a piano and some lively furniture in red and green, and some flowers. It seemed to be all nooks and corners : and in every nook and corner there was some queer little table, or cupboard, or bookcase, or seat, or something or other, that made me think there was not such another good

THE OLD DUTCH HOUSE, CANTERBURY corner in the room ; until I looked at the next one, and found it equal to it, if not better. On everything there was the same air of retirement and cleanliness that marked the house outside. Mr. Wickfield tapped at a door in a corner of the panelled wall, and a girl of my own age came quickly out and kissed him. . . . She had a little basket-trifle hanging at her side, with keys in it; and she looked as staid and as discreet a housekeeper as the old house 84 THE OLD DUTCH HOUSE could have .... We all went up to see my room, she before us. A glorious room it was, with more oak beams, and diamond panes; and the broad balustrade going all the way up to it." Since those days it has little changed ; two good carvings remain outside the house, and the old windows, whilst just under the roof is carved the date 1617. It is certainly one of the oldest houses in Canterbury, and belongs to Jesus Hospital. It would have fallen down years ago if it had not had a huge oak support placed in the very centre of the sitting room and in the cellar. A" dragon tie" or " king's beam " is found here, while a " root beam " still supports a corner of the house, this inverted root being used as the strongest part of an oak tree which will not split. After the death of Sir John Boys the house was leased to the Huguenots. Originally the whole side of the street was occupied by these Canterbury weavers, and the long windows were made '' to through light on the loomes.'' The old weavers' motto is still seen in the town :- " Fair Warp and Fitting Woof Weave a Web that Bideth Proof." For some years the old house was known as" Ye old Curiositee Shoppe," but in late years it has been again thoroughly done up, and will soon be recognised as " Dickens's old Tea Shoppe." Sir John Boys was made a Freeman of the City, and a copy of his portrait was presented to the Town Hall by Dr. Beauvais, 1782. The office of Recorder of the County first occurs in the family in 1592, when John Bois was appointed to hold the title. Leaving no child to inherit his huge fortune, he left it to maintain Jesus Hospital, which he built in 1596 and endowed. Situated outside the North Gate, the land on ,vhich it is built was known as Bore'send. Sir John agreed to pay Canterbury the sum of 2½d. a year as ground rent for Jesus Hospital for 500 years. He left by will 10 acres of land in East Church to Thomas Ruffin Jeoffries for the benefit of the poor. It was Sir John Boys who also owned the manor of West Court, which was part of the possessions of St. Martin's Priory. In Henry VIII's time it was valued at £200 and carried into the possession of the King's lands, when he granted it to the Arch­ bishop, and it was let to the Pokes in James !I's reign. A large monument was erected to Sir John in the Cathedral, of alabaster and stone, at the foot of which are his two wives-the first with her lace veil thrown back and a lace ruffle round her neck, the second with her veil thrown back, one ruffle round her neck and another round her hips. There was a table between them covered with a fringed cloth and a baby lying in swaddling clothes. 8~- UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS The scroll and the baby are now missing. At the top is mounted a death's head on outspread ,vings, and under the inscription :- " To Sir John Boys, of the family of Fredville, Knight, a learned Lawyer, Ste,vard of the temporalities of five Archbishops of Canter­ bury :* Assessor to this Court to three Wardens of the Cinque Ports, Recorder of the City of Canterbury ; founder of Jesus Hospital in the suburbs ; a man of singular piety, gravity and mildness. He married two ,vives, Dorothy Pawley and Jane Walker, but having no children, he restored his devoted soul to Christ his Saviour, Aug. 28th, 1612, aged 77." Under is added :- '' Grotius Boys renewed the memo­ ~ rial of the moft ,vorthv man, chuf­ ing that this should rather be the monument of his relation than of that ~ more than Civil man ,vhich spared not even the dead. He was buried at ~9 his little Chapel in Betzhanger, with -"- his ancestors and his father Geoffrey Boys, here, not to be forgotten. Can . - .... ,ve ever blush or cease to mourn for one so beloved and learned. It is indeed SEAL OF SIR JOHN BOYS doubtful whether he most excelled in OF ST. GREGORIES S\Veetness of manners or in polite iiterature ; the delight and grief of his friends. As to his other praises the too scanty marble is silent and cannot contain them."

The old church of St. Gregories has in its churchyard between 60 and 70 old yew trees of all shapes and sizes. The Priory of St. Gregory without the Walls was between the North Gate and the new military road. No. 13 North Gate is all that is left of the old building. The Jesus I-Iospital document was written by Sir John Boys in firm, neat handwriting, giving the Hospital to the city of Canter­ bury. His large seal, still in use, has a large lump of ivory for a handle. • Parker, Grindal, Whitgift, Bancroft and Abbott.

86 SIR JOHN BOYS OF ST. GREGORIES, 1535-1612

JESl~S HOSPITAL, CANTERBl~RY

EXTRACTS FROM THE STATUTES OF JESUS HOSPIT.A.L, 1599

Ordinances of Sir John Boys, Knight-the Founder The Warden from tyme to tyme eve oft as the Place shall be voyd, shall be appointed by the Founder duringe his life & after his death by hys wyfe, and after their decease by such of the sur­ name of the Founder as shall be owners of Betzhanger ; or in default of these by such of his surname as shall be owners of Fredville, or in default of these, by the Deane of Canterbury for the time being; or in defaulte by the Mayor of Canterbury. And I do desire that some of the Brethern shall notifie the death of such Warden to such as before ys in appointed to place the said Warden within one month & he or they appointed to make chyose shall choose a discreate man ,vch cann write and read which shall be above the age of thirty years, and under the age of fifty yec.rs and to signifie the san1e under his or their hands and seales, & the same to be registered in the book appointed for that purpose, & for the election & removinge of such warden or Poore & yff within two months noe such warden be chosen & siginfied then the Archdeacon of Canterbury to nomynate and place him for that tyme ; and if none such be chosen & placed ,vithin three months the Mayor of Canterbury for the tyme being to nominate & appoint the \Varden for that tyme ... the "\Varden presented to have been the abbroba­ .cion of one of the visitors hereafter named & if such owner of Betzhanger be ,vithin the age of JLXI years, then the Dean of Canterbury, and others before named be present.

Who shall be chosen into the Hospital and the several degrees of them I. In the first degree such as be of Kynne to the Founder not being worth tenn pounds being above the age of fifty years, or lame, blinde, or unable to worlk shall be preferred before any other provided that there be not above the number of two of them at any -one tyme in the said Hospital. 2. In the second degree I ordeigne that such as be of the Parishes -0f Northgate, Saint Dunstans or St Pawls in or neere Canterbury, being honest Persons of good behavior, of the poorest, aged fifty­ ·five years at the least, not able to get their livinge, and above the (lge of thirty years having dwelled in any of these Parishes by the space of seaven ye ares shall be preferred before any other. The ·persons appointed to nominyate the Warden shall present two to the Mayor or v,thin tvvo months after avoy-dance ; and he to make -choice of one of them provided ever that nomination & election be made first of Northgate, & the second of St Dunstans, the third 87 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS of Saint Pawls, & in default of these then out of Saint Mildred's or any parte of the said Cittie.

Jesus Hospital Rules

1. It shall not be lawful for any Brother or Sister of this hospital to keep any ale house within or without the Hospital ; nor by themselves, nor through any one else, to beg of any person either within the city or elsewhere, yet they may receive the benevolence of any person of himself willingly offering the same. 2. If a Brother or a Sister be found begging then after three admonitions given by the Warden, the same person so offending shall be forthwith expelled. 3. It shall be lawful for any Brother or Sister to use any manual trade which does not interfere with the comfort of the other inmates ; or to be employed in day labour, so that they lodge not out of the Hospital above one night in a week and that by leave of the Warden. 4. If any brother or sister be convicted of any crime in inconti­ nency, forgery, perjury, obstinacy in heresey or obstinately refuse to frequent Divine Service, such a brother or sister by the Mayor and two ancient Aldermen of Canterbury for the time being shall be displaced and never shall be received therein again. 5. If any brother or sister be a blasphemer of God's Holy name,. a common swearer, a common gamester at any unlawful game, a drunkard, a haunter of taverns or ale houses, a brawler, a fighter,. a contentious person, a scold, a sower of discord, then he and she shall be brought before the Mayor and the two ancient Aldermen and if convicted by confession or proof of two honest persons, shall loose one monthly salary and for the third offence shall be put out of the hospital. 6. If any absent himself from the Chapel without a sufficient cause to be allowed of the Warden, for every such default to forfeit (6d.) sixpence and if twice in one week then the second time to· forfeit one shilling. 7. Whereas the Brother and Sister have their abinding at the Chapel door, and yet so neglect the Service of God in not coming to Chapel until service have commenced, therefore it is ordered that such of them as shall not be at the beginning of the prayers shall pay for their absence and contempt so much for every day· as if they were wholly absent. 8. Every Brother and Sister, without sufficient cause to be allowed by the Warden, shall nightly lodge in the hospital. 9. Any Brother or Sister having just cause allowed by the Warden may be absent six weeks at one or several times in any year. 10. No child of a Brother or Sister, no kinsfolk, or friend, man- 88 JESUS HOSPITAL RULES servant, or maiden shall be suffered to sleep in the Hospital without the express sanction of the Warden. 11. The Gates of the Hospital shall be locked up every night at 10 o'clock. 12. No Brother or Sister can be allowed in any way to interfere with or rob from another's garden plot. If convicted of this offence for the first time the culprit shall forfeit three days' pay, for the second a week's pay, and for the third shall be put out of the Hospital as a dishonest person. 13. No domestic animal shall be kept by any Brother or Sister, save and except the Cat. 14. No inmate shall break down or deface any of the brick work, tiling or wainscot, or other property belonging to the Hospital, under any pretence whatsoever. Nor put up any cupboard, shelf, or other piece of furniture without permission of the Warden.

" Whereas I have before appointed & by these presents ordain that after the death of Lady Jane Boys my wife at which time the French Mars_hes & Sandhills should come into the possession of the Warden, Brothers & Sisters of the said Hospital that there should be one other inbrother into the said Hospital should have his dwelling & receive-salary & profit as the other brothers do. And further that the Warden shall have Three Pounds six shillings and eight pence yearly more for the increase of his salary and that the Warden, brothers and sisters should pay yearly out of the profit of the French Marshes to four other of the said out brothers whom they shall put to be apprentices fifty shillings a year in . . . per annum. And they to . . . labour to fell and make freely there . . . of wood for their happiness as they shall have at reasonable rates and he to have his dwelling and Six Pounds six shillings and eight pence. And a woman to attend the sick and to have her dwelling and like salary yet there will remain yearly of the whole land in possession a surplusage of Thirty Pounds per annum-where I do ordain that the said poor inbrothers shall . . . as the others and so in all there shall be sixteen. Where yearly . . . to be put forth to or apprenticed. And . . . proportion yearly reserved for gowns to be had for the warden inbrothers and sisters to be had every third year the . . . reparations and all rearages ordinary and extra ordinary being defalked and some . . . as shall . . . in the house not ... by the year twenty shillings the residue shall be divided between the warden inbrothers and sisters of the above Hospital for ever. Witnessed at the Hospital ordinances. W aham Boys Boyes Ower John Cold E. Lomds Daniel Gipp Jon boys UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS The charity supports sixteen inmates, besides a Warden, ,vho is allowed £100 per annum and a house and garden, and each inmate has a separate tenement and shares in the annual rent of the estates attached, which in some years has produced as much as £40 to each. About 100 years ago the Warden and Claviger were unfaithful to their task and took some of the funds. The Warden ran av;ay and the Claviger was dismissed. · Through mismanagement the funds became so low it became necessary to close the Hospital for a few years, and when sufficient money had accumulated the building was reopened. The Brothers and Sisters wore gowns for a good half of the nineteenth century. Adjoining the Sandhills were the "Tenants Hills." These, it appears, were used for grazing by all the tenants of the Sandhills and neighbourhood. 1595. Jesus Hospital was founded by Sir John Boys, Knight, and he wrote " That he hoped someone else would add a few more houses to make up the number to 24.'' The apartments form three sides of a square, in the middle the tiny Chapel, with the Boys coat of arms in coloured glass in the window. On the fourth side of the square is a dwarf wall with steps and a gate from the street. The red brick building has a picturesque tone and appearance, and the rooms are light and airy-each having a bedroom, sitting room and tiny kitchen. The Hospital is most comfortable. Old Boys, commonly called " The Colonel," declared he was happier there than in a boarding house where everyone would want to know his business. Regularly on 3rd December the accounts are made up to date. The Mayor visits the Almshouses on 12th December and gives the old pensioners their money. They get £6 for every three months, and generally £10 for the Christmas quarter. But the latter amount depends on what expenses have been needed for the upkeep of the buildings.

90 TOl\IB OF SIR JOI-IN BOYS OF CANTERBURY TOlVIB OF DEAN JOHN BOYS IN CANTERBURY IN CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL CATHEDRAL

CHAPTER VIII

DENTON AND T APPINGTON HALL '' At Betzhanger a Gentleman At Fredville a Squire At Bonnington a noble Knight At ... a Layer."

AWYER is here pronounced Lair, as is common now in some counties. This verse related to the famous family of L Boys, of which four branches were flourishing at once in the seats here mentioned. The village of Denton lies between Canterbury and Deal, a short street full of old cottages, at one end of which lies Denton Court. This manor + 4 + in Domesday was part of the possession of Bishop Odo, but was confiscated and • granted to Gilbert Magminot. Later the estate was held by Simon de Daniture, he having held it by knight's service. (A knight's fee was called in Normandy " fief d'haubert," and is said to have been equal to 600 acres, and in the time of Henry I it was termed a "knyghte's meteshom," a knight's home or place of maintenance.) In 1312 there was an inquisition show- ing Robert de Bosco held in chief certain ARMS OF JOHN BOYS lands in Denton by the service of render- OF DENTON ing 5ld. a year at the hundred of Ersham. Denton Court belonged to Thomas Yerde, who sold it to Sir R. Peyton, who alienated it to John Boys of Denton, the son of John of Fredville. He died and vvas buried in the little church of which he was patron, his monument stating : '' Here under lieth buried the body of John Boys Esq re., of this Church and Attorney General to the Kyng ower sovaring lord of his honorable and hight [sic] Court of Chancery of his grace's Duchye of Lancastre who died the 14th day of May 1543. On whose soul Jesus have mercy." He was Steward of the Court and Town Council in Sandwich, and for some time he resided in Deptford. In 1574 the Court, which had twice been destroyed by fire, was rebuilt by Wm., son of John, who left it to reside at Chartham. 91 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS He married Frances Isley, and by his will resumed to himself and his numerous family the ancient name of Bois. From this branch is believed to descend the family still called Bois, one of whom was in charge of the Deptford Dockyards, and had gre1t influence during the Gordon Riots, his sword being a family heirloom ; and his descendants, many of whom still live in England, have also done much to help the Empire in Ceylon. In St. Stephen's, Canterbury, is erected the monument to Captain Wm. Alcock by Alfrey, his endeared wife, daughter of Wm. Boyse of Denton, Esq. So that Thomas Alcock, who was killed by Sir John .Boys, was certainly a near relation. Denton Court then passed to Edward Boys, the eldest son, who was servant to Abergavenny, and he sold it in 1589 to Richard Rogers, D.D., rector of St. l\1artin's, and later Bishop of Dover and Justice of the Peace, who had married Alfra, the daughter of Vincent Boys of Beckesbourne. Here in former times the gallery in the inner hall was on three sides, two sides being 40 feet long. What legends the old room could have told, of which only a few fire flues now remain! Alas ! It was again destroyed by fire and rebuilt. " In the year of our Lord 1649," a document states," the churchway from Mr. Henrie Oxinden's Brick house in Denton Street to the still next Denton Court Place was paved : to witness whereof I have hereunto set my hands. Hen. Oxinden." As appears by a memorandum dated 1662 the Bishop annexed to the Court-rolls, obligingly communicated by Saml. Egerton Bridges, the present proprietor of the estate, Wm. Boys held in capite the Rectory of Minster in Sheppey and owned South Court ; he died when his son and heir Thomas was only 26 years old, and was buried under the high altar of the beautiful old church of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate. One enters the Court Drive between the fields and between the yews that have grown so tall and thick that they have been cut to resemble forts ; suddenly is seen the little church, which dates from 1200. There is an old list of the Vicars kept in the oak chest in the Bell Tower dating from 1288, when the first Vicar was installed. Among the names is shown Allen Boys, Rector about 1366. For over 200 years now the property has belonged to the Willet family, and two of the church chancel windows are erected to their memory. The following arms in coloured glass were taken from the former Court and became the possession of H. Faussett of Hepington : 1, Boys ancient arms. 2, Three leopards' heads for Reynolds. One must now pass over the road to see Tappington Hall, in the same parish. 92 Ti\PPINGTON HALL Gerald de Tappington possessed this estate under Henry III, after which it passed to the owners of Denton Manor. J. Yerde conveyed it to John Fogg, who sold it to Richard Hunt. ~t became the property of John Boys, who died 1543, since which time it has always been in the possession of the owners of Denton Court. It is an antiquated commodious farmhouse of Elizabethan archi­ tecture, with a gabled end and twisted chimneys, but is much smaller than when built. The old kitchen pump is now 50 feet from the back of the house. There is a fireplace in the washhouse said to be of Saxon origin. The small back courtyard is a perfect subject for the artist's brush ; and the present kitchen, with its huge fireplace and thick black beams, must have been the old dining hall. Part only of the old cellars are now seen, and they must have been well stocked in days gone by. " There is ale in the cellars of Tappington Hall, But the Squire is a churl, and his drink is small." Ingoldsby Legends. In the days .of Queen Elizabeth the house was owned by a High Sheriff, and a dismal legend is still told of his son's wild life. The glen is still seen where the keeper's daughter was seen to enter and never quit. You can go up the wonderful carved staircase and see the bloodstain of the murdered brother. At the top of the stairs is a bedroom, with its old carved chimneypiece, and from this room leads the staircase from which the High Sheriff's son would go out at night without being noticed during his parents' lifetime.*

The scene of the Ingoldsby Legend, "The Witches' Frolic," took place in the snuggery of the Hall :- " Morning grey scarce bursts into day Ere at Tappington Hall there's the deuce to pay."

Also "The Nurse's Story" :- " There's an old woman dwells upon Tappington Moor, She hath years on her back at the least fourscore ! "

And " The Knight and the Lady of Tapton Hall" :-

~, But Lady Jane was tall and slim1 And Lady Jane was fair, And ere morning came, that winsome dame Had made up her mind-or, what's much the same,

• Edward Boys the elder, of Fredville, was High Sheriff for Kent, 1577. 93 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Had thought about-once more 'changing her name,' And she said, with a pensive air, To Thompson, the valet, while taking a,vay, When supper was over, the cloth and the tray, ' Eels a many I've ate; but any So good ne'er tasted before! They're a fish, too, of which I'm remarkably fond, Go-pop Sir Thomas again in the Pond- Poor dear ! He'll catch us some more ! ! ' "

Thomas Boys (1502), third son of John of Fredville and brother of John of Denton, married l\1alin Leigh, and she was buried at St.Mary's, Oxford, where her brass still remains.

CHARISSIMAE MATRI DOMINl:E l\1ALIN.lE BOYS ANTONIUS BOYS FILIUS GRATITUDINIS ET AMORIS ERGO, UNA CUM FRATRIBUS ET SORORIBUS SUPERSTITIBUS MOER£s, POSUIT. MALLE MALINA TUAM GENS OMNIS POSTERA LAUDET MALLE MORI BENE QUAM VIVERE IvIALLE MALE VITA TIBI IN CHRISTO ET CHRISTO BENE M0RTUA VIVIS. NON M0RITUR QUISQUIS VIXERAT ANTE DEO. MoRTUA EST IN DoMINO OxoN11 ANNO lETATIS suAE LXX ANNO AUTEM ULTIMI TEMPORIS MDLXXXIII! MENSE AUGUSTO DIE XXII. Translation To his very dear mother, Lady Malin Boys, Anthony Boys, together with his sorrowing surviving brothers and sisters, has placed this memorial out of thankfulness and love. LThe next two lines should appear in the original Latin as they show a rather curious play on the christian name.] Life to you in Christ and in Christ, having died, thou livest happily. No one dies ,vho has lived before the Lord. She died at Oxford in her 70th year on 22nd August 1584. Thomas Boys was buried at Upper Deal ; his monument was originally inlaid in Kentish granite. For years the brass was hidden behind the organ loft,* and when found was quite black. '' Here in this isyle lyeth the bodde of Thomas Boys Efquire Soon of John Boys of Freddefielde in the parish of Nunnington, in the countie of I(ent, Esquire. vVhich Thomas ,vas in his youthe a gentleman at arms at Calles, and attended upon the person of * The organ gallery over the west entrance was " built by ye pilots of Deal 1705," and in former years used by them during Divine Service. 94 MALIN BOYS AND HER TWELVE CHILDREN

THOMAS BOYS OF DEAL Kinge Henry VIIIth at the seige of Bullen. Who was receiver of the Countie of Gurynes thear, and alfo twoo yeres together mayor of the towne of Calles, and after by the gift of Kinge Edward the VIth in the vth yere of his reign 1551 made Captayne of Deale Castle, whoo lived the age of Ix yeres and was buried the xiith. of

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THOMAS BOYS OF UPPER DEAL February in the vth yere of the reign of our Soverign lade Queene Elizabethe 1562 whose foule refteth with God. " Thoughe Thomas Boys his corps in grave here ded dothe lie Yet Robert Boys faith in him shall never dye."

Coulsdon 1610. " Anthonie Bois the 2nd sonne of Thomas Bois a man of armes G2 95 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS in Calais and Captaine of Dele Castell and of Malin daughter of Nicholas Leigh of Addington Esqre., a man for his pietie, integritie, Modestie, charitie to the poore and most lovinge and kinde carriage towards all, Singularly beloved whilst he 4 + 4 lived, and after his death generally deplored of the whole county. Lived Parson of this Churc~: 22 years and died the 4th day of August in the yeare of our Lord 1610." Thomas's third son, Thomas, became a Fellow of All Souls College, as kin to the founder. This branch of the family was living in Oxford until nearly 1700. Major Henry Boys, died 1882, aged 81 years, was also buried in Upper Deal. He gave the land for the Infants' School, pre­ ARMS OF THOMAS BOYS senting it to the town for ever. He stood OF UPPER DEAL godfather to his greatest friend's child, who received the name of Henry Boys Roberts. Laura, his wife, known as the second Fair Maid of Kent, had engraved on her tombstone " Praises recorded on a tomb are but vainglory" (etc.). Laura was a ward in Chancery and married clandestinely. She and her husband kept a small boat on the shore to be always ready to escape to France should the Commissioners ever disturb their peace.

96 CHAPTER IX

BOYS HALL, WILLESBOROUGH, AND HAWKHURST

From that chamber, clothed in white, The bride came forth on her wedding night : . There, in that silent room below, The dead lay in his shroud of snow : And in the hush that followed the prayer, Was heard the old clock on the stair,- '' Forever-never! Never-forever! '' All are scattered now and fled ; Some are married and some are dead ; And when I ask with throes of pain, ''. Ah 1 When shall they all meet again ? As in the days long since gone by,'' The ancient time-piece makes reply :- ''Forever-never! Never-forever I Never here, forever there, Where all parting, pain and care, And death and time shall disappear,­ Forever there, but never here ! The knowledge of Eternity Sayeth this incessantly,- Forever-never ! Never-forever!'' LONGFELLOW.

Boys Hall, near Ashford

HE manor house known as '' The Moat'' in Sevington parish probably belonged to the Convent of St. Augustine, and was T taken from them by Hugo de Montford at the Conquest. It appears to have been the ancient inheritance of a Saxon family as late as the reign of Edward III, when Sir John de Sevington possessed it. In 1361 it ,vas owned by Sir John de Barrie, through his marriage with Maud, only daughter of Sir John de Sevington. Sir John de Barrie was Conservator of the Peace, Sheriff and Knight of Kent, a descendant of Audrian Barrie of Barre in Nor­ mandy, who came over to England with Richard I. Sir John and his family paid knights' fees towards the expenses of conferring 97 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS the honour of knighthood upon the young Black Prince. He was buried in Sevington Church with his wife 1393, she being an heiress of the Oxenbridge family. Legend says his descendant went to Ireland, where he became so popular and famous that he was called Barrymore. The Moat passed in marriage to Vincent Boys of Bekesbourne (elder brother of Sir John Boys steward to five Archbishops), who married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Barry, Lieutenant of Dover Castle 1588, and later it passed to John Alcock, who had been steward to the Barrys, through whom by marriage it returned to another branch of the Boys family, Thomas Boys of Mersham having married Margaret, daughter of John Alcock; he it was who pulled it down (the moat itself still exists), and rebuilt the seat with the old materials in 1632 on higher ground at Willes­ borough, calling it Boys Hall. He added a secret passage to Sevington Church (or so legend declares), and men are living who say they helped to fill in this passage, but it is more likely that it simply connected the huge cellars with a hollow, or copse, to facilitate the smuggling of wool out of the country, or spirits into it. How can one describe the present when the whole house speaks of the past? In the entrance porch, March 1925, was lying a spade showing that someone inside was interested in the garden. It gave a friendly welcome to the stranger, but not more than the Hall and its occupants that bitter snowy morning. Are there not four massive oak beams meeting overhead of the oak frieze which borders the dark panels all round the room ? The original rooms are there, with doors of Jacobean oak studded with brass nails, to which in recent years two old linen-fold doors have been added, found in a cellar of a house near by. Birds carved in stone are in the fireplace of the drawing room, where originally was the inscription "T.B. 1632. M.B.,'' and in the centre is the prancing horse, the noted badge of the I{entish men. The hall ,vith its stone mantelpiece has the present owner's arms carved in the centre, and an oak overmantel shows plainly the arms of Kent, with those of the families of Barry, Alcock, Boys, Rickets and Masters. The old house is little altered since those old days, except that a billiard room, servants' hall and bedroom over have been added, and windows introduced 150 years ago have been altered to the original style. The present owners sho,ved the stranger with pride the low rooms, the great well stairc;ase, black with age, the old clock still ticking, up to the nurseries, into the principal bedroom with its dome-shaped ceiling and surrounds of oak panelling, once removed from the Moat House, where clever hands added Jacobean frieze, 98 BOYS HALL, NEAR \VILLESBOROUGH

TAPPINGTON HALL, DENTON

BOYS HALL, WILLESBOROUGH pilasters and richly carved overmantels to the Tudor panelling to finish the designs. Was this the " withdrawing-room" where tiny hooks remained which held up the Christmas decorations of long ago -was this the room of the dance in the legend described later on page 100? Off this room is the old powder cupboard. The panelling in the dressing room is said to date from 1480, and the bedroom over the hall is still panelled in white, and contains a cupboard big enough to sleep in. The huge oak king-post still supports the top floor ; the lumber room extended the whole length of the house, where on loose boards were placed two chests of disused clothes-long, long ago. Look well at the old door where grain and wool were raised through and stored into the loft. Go into the room used by the monks: see the little niche in the wall in which ,vere kept the holy elements. See the spotless kitchen with the old beams and doors. See it all, and then return to the hall, sit near the fire and hear once again repeated the legend of the house. Ask the question '' Do you believe in ghosts ? " and you may probably hear the reply " I think we saw the ghosts of the panelling in two rooms.'' A curious thing happened when the house was up for sale in 1910, and the following is copied from a letter of the present owner :- " Visiting the house in April with my wife, her sister and father, all of whom are exceptionally observant and of unusually accurate memories, we spent some hours examining everything with a view to purchase. I visited the house again in May with my brother, spending some hours in it, and then decided to purchase. I did not see it again till August, when, staying with my father­ in-law in Sussex, I went over alone to meet the architect. On that occasion I noticed there was no panelling in the lounge hall or the dining room, and yet only the previous afternoon I had been describing the house to some guests at my father-in-law's, and mentioned that the hall was panelled in oak throughout, and the dining room up to 18 inches of the ceiling. On returning to Sussex that evening I described the shock I had experienced in finding the panelling did not exist, when all three of my relatives said they were prepared to swear it was there in April. My father-in-law then looked up his diary, which confirmed their statements. Of course all thought it had been removed since I purchased, but, on returning next day to investigate, it was proved beyond all doubt that there had been no panelling in those rooms for many years at all events. A year later Mr. K., who then owned Little Boys Hall and kne,v Boys Hall well, and who was a professional valuer, and had, in fact, valued the fittings throughout the house, happened to mention the panelling ; so I asked ' What rooms are you alluding to ? ' ' Well, the lounge hall.' ' Oh, is 99 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS that panelled right up ? ' ' Yes, of course, and then there is the dining room.' ' Is that panelled ? ' ' Why, of course.' ' Right up to the ceiling? ' ' No, to about there,' and he pointed with his stick to about 18 inches from the ceiling in his office. He told me a few days later that his wife, who also knew the house well, was quite certain those rooms were panelled, and several other people in different parts of England, who had stayed in the house with a former owner, said the same." Is it like a mild version of the experience of the two ladies at Versailles ? And if there was ever panelling there, where has it gone to ? Or is the panelling only seen by those who visit the Hall for the first time ? It was certainly on view to the stranger who visited the house that March morning, and the above de­ scription of the panelling in the lounge hall ,vas written three weeks before the letter about the ghost panelling was received.*

A shortened account of the Legend of Boys Hall, taken from Mrs. Henry Wood's" Argosy" of January 1880 All the guests of the Christmas party had arrived : the Squire from Chart, who had ridden over with his cousin on a pillion behind, Mr. Toke, and several others. In the house were the Misses Tappenden, Ellen Scott and Lieut. B., and a guest called Tracy, who had recently returned with the host from his journey. Since the cruel winter of 1775, when the borsholder was frozen dead in the next field, the owner had taken every precaution to keep out the cold ; great fires burned day and night in the hall. The ladies were dressed with large bell hoops and headdress to correspond in size. B. B., aged 17, had just left school and become engaged to the eldest son of the house, a youth whose genial mood and comeliness fairly atoned for his lack of brains. The other engaged girl ,vas Ellen Scott, a mere child in appearance, but determined and impulsive. She was the last of a family all buried at Braboume ; but the land, like the line, has dwindled to six feet of earth. Her lover was Lieut. B., a tall stalwart fello,v, ,vho had already seen active service. The substantial dinner, served at 4 o'clock, was followed by dancing in the " withdra,ving room " upstairs, much laughter being caused by Mrs. Radcliffe, ,vhose heated soles stuck to the v.raxen floor so that she was obliged to do without them. * Since the above was written we hear that the lower rooms have been recently repapered and decorated, and an examination of the walls then clearly showed that all the lower rooms were once panelled. It is also interesting to notice that in the full description in the Argosy the writer in 1860 describes the panelling existing at that time in the drawing-room on the ground floor. It must have been removed along with that in the Hall and dining-room soon after the above date. 100 MRS. HENRY WOOD'S "ARGOSY" Cards, whist, quinze, piquet were followed by Sir Roger de Coverley in the large hall, in which the servants joined. It was then Ellen S., Tracy's partner, found she had fallen in love with him. He was fair, slight, with arched eyebrows and blue eyes ; his hair dra,vn stiffly back in the ungainly fashion of the time. Dancing continued and still Tracy clung to his partner until he bore her fainting to a sofa. Dr. Whitfield declared " It was merely hysteria," but when one bent to give her smelling salts she clasped the hand, saying " Tracy, Tracy." Alas I the person least to be desired, Lieut. B., was peering over her with a troubled look. In a moment his brow furrowed, and in a voice like thunder said'' She is coming to herself,'' and turned away ! The old year was dying in silence; then the hour of midnight struck. An old custom followed : Who would let the old year out and the new year in ? Beware !

'' For he ,vho opens first the door To let the new year tread the floor Shall see misfortune at the fore."

It was all nonsense, Mr. Toke declared, turning the well-worn key. Tracy was about to pull it open when Miss S. stepped forward to lay her hand on his shoulder. But too late ! " Who cares ? " shouted Tracy, swinging back the sturdy oak panels. So runs the story. Ellen S., finding herself in love with Tracy (who gave her no encouragement), pleaded with Lieut. B. to release her, as she could not love him. The next morning Tracy was to leave early ; already several of the guests had gone. But ,vhat was that shot in the night? Lieut. B. appeared on good terms with Ellen at the breakfast table, and stated Tracy had gone off early on his favourite horse. Nine years passed in succession of birth, bridal and burial. The household was sadly changed ; the old host was dead, his only child and son, after being crippled for many months from a fall from the ne,v Dover Coach, had died. Lieut. B., now Captain B., had greatly distinguished himself in the Gordon Riots of 1780. He had married and lived abroad, but they were not happy. She did not like her husband's temper, and he did not like his wife's wayward disposition, and even hinted at hallucinations. Nothing more was heard of Tracy. Another cold winter, when the snow lay thick on the ground for several weeks. On 22nd December there was heard a ,vailing and sobbing, and on opening the front door was seen the fragile face of Ellen B., looking ,vorn to a shadow. She had been walking round and round, imagining HE had kept beckoning her on. Not her husband-he was dead; but she wanted IOI UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS now her old lover, Tracy. The truth ,vas guessed : her mind was gone. For weeks she lay at death's door, and a small piece of paper given her by Tracy was found: " My Darling,--It is not too late. My love is fire compared with his icy heart. I see you feel it. Accept it now ; if not, it shall follow you as an angel. But when misery comes its force will be felt as anguish and you will, you must turn to one who by right of preference can claim you." Was it Tracy's spirit which gave Ellen the mad desire to dress up again in the clothes she had ,vorn that Christmas years before ? To pacify her the old chests were opened in the lumber room. A terrific thunderstorm was raging. Two churches in Romney Marsh were struck, a flock of sheep killed in the Falconfield, and the wheat stacks fired at Highgate Farm. By 10 o'clock it had died down. The family went to bed and to sleep, except Ellen, who escaped again from her companion, and once again returned to the lumber room. The storm had returned; there was low moaning; now mingled with this was a voice more human than all, a shriek which pierced the thick walls ,vith entreaties for help. Up to the loft her cousin and the frightened maids rushed. There stood Ellen fully dressed. She had moved the heavy chests, and with a wild look of triumph she pointed down. " There, there ! I knew I was right; he was hiding from me here. For months I have called him, and he has· answered feebly and more feebly, and I have groped by day and night to find him. Tracy ! why are you here ? " There were now shrieks from the onlookers, for lying flattened between the rough joists was the skeleton of Tracy. The garments were few, but it was seen who it was ; the gardener raised the head, and a bullet fell with a metallic ring on the plaster beneath, ,vhich Ellen seized and hastened to the loft door to examine in the lightning light. Alas!- the door blew open-no one was in time-for, turning her treasure round and round, and finding herself on the ledge, she turned giddy, staggered, and fell into vacancy. The twenty-foot fall had claimed another inmate of the house. Dr. Whitfield came at last, but the remains upstairs were what surprised him most. They were those of a woman. One can only guess the rest. Doubtless Lieut. B. and Tracy had had words, and rather than disclose her secret Tracy agreed to a duel that New Year's night; they had fought, and one had fallen. Ellen B. and Tracy were buried in one coffin in the churchyard by the Chantry Chapel. Upon the flat stone was inscribed" We see through a glass darkly." Was this Tracy also a member of the family that " always had the ,vind in their faces " ?

The Living of Sevington appears to have been in the gift of the owners of the Moat from very early times, but in 1790 Edward Boys J.02 A BEDROOl\1, BOYS HALL

THE HALL, BOYS HALL

LITTLE BOYS HALL sold the advowson to Edward Norwood, of Ashford, when Sarah Boys, so the story goes, eloped with Wm. Knowles of .that town. Their descendants, the Woodwells, emigrated to the United States and are still flourishing. Sarah's twin brother married Elizabeth Hobbs, of the firm of auctioneers. The estate remained the property of the Boys family till about 1760, when it was bought by Sir Wyndham Knatchbull; it was resold about 1882 by Sir Wyndham the 12th Baronet. It was leased for some years during this period to the Banks. It has been the property of the Rev. Ernest Owen since 1910. It is said Little Boys Hall, on the same estate, was begun by the father and completed by Edward Boys, who died 1796, but probably it was a much older house, enlarged and restored by them. It contains dark oak beams and a wall four feet thick between the kitchen and the dining room. The old pump is still here, dated 1749, and the well which has never been known to run dry. In the garden is a huge mulberry tree, said to be the finest in the South of England. Before passing from Ashford one must not forget to mention Final and Bradbridge, the two Tenterden martyrs who were burned at the stake in the Market Place ; and Agnes Grebel, whose husband and two sons had given evidence against her, as she was dragged through the streets exclaimed " I repent me that ever I bore these children." G. Feilding wrote: "Robert Boys the Crusader who married Jehan was believed to be the ancestor of the Hawkhurst branch of Boys, of whom many are clergymen. The \Villesborough branch were their cousins." Philipott, in his Vil!. Cant., p. 252, says "From the Bonnington branch are extracted the Bois of Willsborough, being the second branch of the second house; secondly Bois of Offington; and thirdly, Bois of Hawkhurst." Uffington, part of the parish of Nonington, was purchased by Vvilliam Boys, son of Vincent of Bonnington, 1629. His descendants sold it to Mr. Oxenden. The son of Christopher and Ann, called Christopher, was taken prisoner by the Turks 1707, and in the Ickham parish register is found a list of 88 inhabitants who contributed £5 r8s. 3d. towards a fund for the redemption of Englishmen captured and in slavery to the Turks. The Rector, Mr. Casaubon, and Lady Elizabeth Boys, widow of Sir John of Donnington Castle, headed the list with £1 each. Their daughter Ann married Richard Fogge, and their descendants married into the Boyce family, who also claim descent from the main tree. Through this branch the family is connected with Dean Wace of Canterbury. It may help many of the family to note that some of the descendants 103 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS of Thomas Boys of Bonnington were known as Boyce of Bruenden, and others as Bois of Ashburnham (1655). Richard Boys, who joined the fourth Crusade, bore for his arms Argent, a chevron sable bezanty. Another De Bosco Crusader was taken captive by the Saracens in Palestine, and legend adds that, being laden with chains and cast into prison, he seemed to be at the point of death when a wondrous miracle was perfarmed by unkno,vn powers, and he was transported to Wolverly Court, his ancestral home, just in time to prevent his wife's marriage with another man. His prison chains are still preserved in Wolverly Court. Ralph Boyse, 1614, described as a yeoman, descended from the Hawkhurst branch, and in his will left his daughter Alice £10 when 18; "to the child of which my wife Catherine is pregnant £10. To James my son my freehold field in Winfield called Ramsod ... and 20s. Thomas my son my freehold house in Battle and a Tene­ ment called Abbotts, Bexhill." His grandson was James Bois of Ashburhame, 1655. " Hawkhurst " In the village of l-Iawkhurst stands the ancient seat of Elfords, formerly owned by the family of Castleman. Edward Roberts alienated the manor to Richard Boys, Gent., of Highgate, Middlesex, who died 1605, leaving his descendants there for three cen­ turies. The improved position of this branch of the family arose from Richard marrying Margaret, a sister and wealthy heiress of Ralph Bellingham of Sussex. There is a stained glass window at the hall of the Elford estate ,vith the family arms, dated 1638. (1) Notes from the Hawkhurst Church Records, 1582 :- " yt is to be Remembered that Master Scott, Master boyse and Thomas Petter bathe eche of them Recevede one keye of the doore and chest where the Composysyon and other the Evydence belonng­ yng to the hole Tennaure of Hawkehurst, where Master Scott hath the great keye of the doore, and l\1aster boyse and Thomas Petter that the so smale keyes of the chest and Richard Greuell the other keye of the Cheste.'' (2) 1586. " Itm, that the sayd Richard Boyse gent, chargeth himself to have received of Chrystofer Douneke for a olde clothe of sylke belonging to the Church of Hawkherst."

John Boys, one of the '' Habel l\1aryners '' of Hastings, took part against the Spanish Armada, and Richard of Hawkhurst gave £50 for the defence of the nation at that time. " John Boys, junior, at the age of 26 took to himself a wife in the person of Agnes 104 RICHARD BOYS OF HAWKHURST Bossom." In 1697 and 1699 Thomas and Grace Boys died at Hastings ; they are said to have been the grandchildren of Thomas Boys who fought as a skipper against the Spaniards. About this time Kilbourne the antiquarian, who was five times chosen Principal of Staples Inn, London, was also a Kentish magistrate ; his Hawk­ hurst colleague on the bench was William Boys, whose memorial stone was moved from the entrance to the front of the main chancel steps in the church with the others of the family. In January 1745 Stephen Boyce was drowned in a cutter near Hastings with five others. William Boys of Hawkhurst, who married Elizabeth Harcourt, was noted for always riding to church on Sundays in a sturdy car­ riage drawn by six cart horses, the roads being several inches deep in sand. 1782. Samuel Boys was High Sheriff of Essex. He married Elizabeth, and their only child, Elizabeth, the wealthy heiress, was the heroine of the Lovers' Seat, Fairlight, Hastings. Her father wrote Canterbury Tales Modernised in 1741, besides other poems. He was a religious, quiet man, and with his wife seems to have taken objection to marriage between his daughter and her lover, either because he was looking for someone of better standing, or because he was afraid of their handsome, high-spirited daughter being in any frivolous society. This romantic story is no fiction. Its principal incidents took place in the early part of the war which endetl 1814. In her nine­ teenth year Elizabeth, not being strong, was sent to a farmhouse at Fairlight for a change. To the church the good-looking young naval officer, Captain George Lamb, came, and seeing Elizabeth fell in love at first sight. He asked her father to let him pay his addresses to the young girl, but was curtly refused. As Lieutenant Lamb he had done good service in the East Indies, and had been promoted as Captain to the revenue cutter" Stag," cruising between Dungeness and Beachy Head on the look-out for smugglers. One evening from the cliff Elizabeth spied the "Stag"; her signal was seen, and in no time Captain Lamb was up beside her. They met several times and at last decided to elope. On 16th January 1786 her bed­ room was found empty; but too late. The happy pair had gone to London and been married at St. Clement Danes. They settled in Higham, Salehurst, and had one daughter, Dorothy, who married the Rev. Thomas Ferris, son of the Dean of Battle. Not long after his marriage Captain Lamb quitted his Majesty's service, but when cruising about the Channel in his yacht one December was overtaken by a storm, and whilst helping to make all secure on board was washed overboard, and, although a good swimmer, he sank, 1814; hi:_; body was washed ashore at Bognor 105 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS three weeks later. One legend says Elizabeth, on hearing the news, went to the Lovers' Seat, threw up her arms, and saying

" The shells of the ocean shall be my bed, That shrimps may wiggle waggle over my head,'' took a leap to death over the cliff. Another legend says she lived to see the Elford estate bought back by her son-in-law, whose eldest son, Thomas Boys Ferris, was Rector of Guiseley, Yorkshire. Strange it is that this small parish should have also had for its Rector William Boys, whose reputation was: "He was not unlearned, but very wilful and stubborn." Major Ferris, the grandson, declared that the parents never forgave the couple ; so that, having no heir, Samuel left his estates, worth £15,000 a year, to his brother William, who died within a week, and then to his nephew, who in less than ten years gambled away a great portion of the property. After his death the doctor and valet took the dead man's hand and signed a will leaving all the fortune to be divided between them. It is said the doctor went mad and the valet was murdered. A daughter of Samuel Harvey Boys was buried at Betzhanger, 1689. She had a boar for her crest. Samuel Harvey was buried at Sand­ wich, and his crest shows the sow with ten small pigs. Through Samuel Boys, who married Crome, sprang the Sussex branch of the Boys family. The poems of Samuel Boyse were published 1730. In 1860, aged 72 years, died a Samuel Boys at Hastings, a dairyman at Clive Vale, through whose fields was a path to the Lovers' Seat. (H.B.)

1o6 PART II

"THE TENANTS' BRANCH" THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF WILLIAM BOYS AND MARY HARVEY BETTESHANGER TENANTS' BRANCH

ANCESTORS OF MARY HARVEY

Duke Pepin, Mayor of the Palace of the Merovingian Kings I Charles (The Hammer), 737 I King Pepin I Charlemagne, 814, m. Hildgrade I Lewis, 840, m. Judith Degrade Charles II, 877, m. Hermentrude I Baldwin = Judith, 919 Arnold Baldwin Arnould, 988 Baldwin, 1039 Baldwin, 1067 = Adela of France . I Matilda = Wm. 1st I . Wm. I = Matilda, oh. 1085 1089 Wm. Earl of Warren = Gundred 1135 Wm. Earl of Warren = Isabella, da. of Vermandois I 142 Henry Earl of Huntingdon = Adeline de Warren 1195 David Earl of Huntingdon = Matilda of Chester 1224 Alan Lord of Galloway = Margaret John Baliol le Scot = Dervorguille Sir Wm. Baliol = John Scott= Sir Wm. Michael Scott = Wm. Scott= 1400 John Scott = da. of Combe 1424 Sir Robert Scott = Sir Wm. Kempe = Alice Scott 1520 Sir Thos. Kempe= Emelyn Chiche 1598 John Toke = Cecilia Kempe Nicholas Toke = Mary Bennett 1680 Sir John Toke = Mary Knatchbull Charles Toke of Bere = Bridget Toke of Goddington Gideon l\1aude = Margaret Toke 1760 John Harvey = Margaret Maude Richard Harvey = Catherine Springett ob. 1824 John Boys = Mary Harvey

H 109

CHAPTER I

" THE TENANTS' BRANCH ,,

ICHARD, the fourth son of Thomas and Thomazine Boys of Bonnington, was the ancestor of the youngest branch of R the Boys family ; he was also the great-great-grandfather of Robert of Kingston, who married lVIary Friend, who, with their large family, became the tenants of Betzhanger Farm while Edward Boys was in the manor house. Thomas Boys, Rector of Betz­ hanger, in 1653 married Ann, daughter of Robert Boys the farmer, who was the ancestor of John Boys, born 1749, the agriculturist, who ,vas only son of Wm. Boys and Ann Cooper of Ripple. John married Mary, daughter of the Rev. Richard Harvey, Vicar of Estry, and sister of J. S. Harvey, Esq., Master in Chancery and Accountant­ General. John and Mary had 13 children, and for many years lived in the spacious old family residence known as Betzhanger Farm, till they moved to Each. John Boys died at the house of his cousin, l\ilr. Sankey of Wingham, 1824. His wife, Mary, lived until she was 94 years of age, and left behind her over 160 descendants.

EXTRACTS FROM MARY HARVEY'S AUTOGRAPH BOOK, 1769, GIVEN HER BY HER GRANDFATHER SPRINGETT The Husband's Complaint I hate the name of German wool in all its colours bright. Of chairs and stools in fancy ,vork, I hate the very sight. The shawls and slippers that I've seen, the ottomans and bags, Sooner than weave a stitch on me I'd walk the street in rags. I've heard of Wives too musical, too talkative or quiet, Of scolding or of gaming wives, and those too fond of riot, But yet of all the errors known which to the woman fall For ever doing fancy work, I think exceeds them all. The other day when I came home, no dinner got for me. I ask'd my \Vife the reason why-she answer'd One, two, three. I told her I ,vas angry and stamp'd upon the floor, She never look'd at me, but just murmur'd "one green more." Of course she makes me angry, she does not care for that, But chatters while I talk to her, one White and then one Black, Seven Greens and then a Purple, just hold your tongue, my dear, You really do annoy me, I've made a wrong stitch here. And then 'tis oh ! I must go in, that pattern is so rare, H2 III UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS The group of Flowers is just the thing I wanted for my chair. Besides the things she makes are all such touch me not affairs, I dare not ever use a screen, a stool, and as for chairs 'Twas only yesterday I put my youngest Boy on one, And until then I never knew my wife had such a tongue, Alas ! for my poor little ones, they dare not move or speak, 'Tis Tom be quiet, put down that bag, why Harriet where,s your feet? Maria standing on that stool, it was not made for use, Be silent all, three Greens, one Red, a Blue and then a Puce. And as for conversation with her eternal frame, I speak to her of 50 things, she answers just the same ; 'Tis yes love, 5 Reds, then a Blue, I quite agree with you. I've done this wrong, 7, 8, 9, 10, an Orange then a Blue. If any Lady comes to Tea, her Bag is first survey'd And if the pattern pleases her, a copy then is made. She stares too at the Gentm and if I ask her why 'Tis oh ! my love, the pattern of his Waistcoat struck my eye. And if to walk I am inclined, 'tis seldom I go out, At every worsted shop she sees, Oh, how she stands about ! Oh ! the misery of a working Wife, with fancy work run wild And hands which never do aught else for the Husband or for Child. Our clothes are rent and minus strings, my House is in disorder, All, all because my Lady wife has taken to embroider. I '11 put my children out to school, l '11 go across the sea, My Wife so full of fancy work I sure she won't miss me. Even while I write she still keeps on her I, 2, 3 and 4, I'm past all patience on my word, I'll not endure it more.

The Exculpation an Answer Well to be sure I never did, why what a fuss to make. I '11 just explain myself my dear, a little for your sake, You seem to think this worsted work is all the Ladies do, A very great mistake of yours, so I'll enlighten you. I need not count, for luckily I'm filling in just now. So listen dear, and drive away those furrows from your brow. When you are in your study love, as still as any mouse, You cannot think the lots of things I do about the House. This morning after breakfast, I heard the children spell And I'm teaching little Mary to gather and to fell. · I paid my washing bill, and then I went to see What remnants in the Larder for our dinner there might be. I've finish'd Jenny's pinafore, and fed the green Canary, 112 A SACRED LYRIC I've hemmed a Duster, and I've made a bonnet cap for Mary, I've taken in your collar, where you said it was too full, And after that I will confess, I sorted out my wool. I've sent the Broth to Widow Brown, I've made a Dorcas cap And pour'd the stuff the Doctor sent into the Babies' Pap. I've practised that concerto Piece, you thought so very fine, I've written all the notes, to ask your friends to dine. I've filled my vases with fresh flowers, I've scolded all the maids, And after that I will confess, I sorted out my shades, I've read the Paper setting forth the sweet confiding trust Husbands should cherish for their Wives, and I think it very just. Besides to tell the truth, all the worsted work I do, My Bags, my Cushion, and my mats are compliments to you. I made a set of nightshirts once and didn't you declare That the rending of the Calico, was more than you could bear. I knit some Lamb's Wool stockings, and you kick'd up such a rout And ask'd how soon my Ladyship was going to have the gout. So now my dear entirely to please you I declare, I've work'd this splendid arabesque upon my vesper chair, Two Hearthrugs and an Ottoman, seven chairs, and after that I hope to do some groups of flowers and a handsome carriage mat. Enough of banter, yet believe one word before we part, The rest perchance was fable but this is from the Heart. The loving Wife right cheerfully obeys her Husband's will, And e'en lays aside her frame, if it be his Lordly will. (M. R.)

A Sacred Lyr£c (Written by J. S. Harvey) Wrote on being awakened in the night of February 3rd, 1749, by a violent storm of thunder and lightning

Locked in the arms of balmy sleep, From every care of day ; As silent as the folded sheep, And as secure I lay.

Sudden tremendous thunders roll, Quick lightnings round me glare ; The volumn sound alarms the soul, And ,vakes the heart to prayer. 113 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS What'er, 0 Lord, at this still hour, Those a,vful sounds portend, Whether sole engines of Thy power, Or groans for Nature's end,

Grant me to bear with equal mind Those terrors of the sky Forever (as Thou wilt) resigned Alike to live or dye.

Succour the couch where beauty lies, All pale with tender fear ; Where sickness lifts its languid eyes, 0 pour Thy comfort there.

Well pleased, 0 Lord, each eye shall see Those final thunders hurl'd, And mark with joy for love of Thee That flash that molts the world.

Written during a Great Storm in the Year 1773. Great God of Wonders, take the vow Thy humblest servant makes, Who feels Thy power when storms arise, And when the whirlwind shakes.

Who knows and owns that sovereign Power, Whil(st) tempests rage around ; Who sees Thee in the Lightning's blaze Hears in the Thunder's sound.

Protect him in the direfull night, When hundreds drop to death. Spare Thy best blessing, spare the sight, Nor snatch the fleeting breath.

0 spare his tenderer better parts. The wife, the children, save : Nor pierce their unoffending hearts Deep with the vivid wave. 114 POEMS FROM MARY HARVEY'S ALBUM So shall they live to sing Thy praise And bless the bounteous hand Which tum'd the Lightning's keenest rays And bade the Thunder stand.

" Immortal Power," to Thee we owe Protection from the grave ; And, like thy Addison, we know " Thou art not slow to save." JOHN BOYS.

TAKEN FROM MARY HARVEY'S ALBUM. The following churchyard poetry shines upon a widow's tomb­ stone:- ,, Grieve not for me my Dearest Dear -I am not dead b.ut sleeping here With patience wait prepare to die And in a short time you'll come to I.''

A wag wrote under :- , , I am not grieved my Dearest life Sleep on I've got another wife Therefore I cannot come to thee For I must go to bed to she."

On the Tea Table bei,ng styld the Place of Refuge. Where scandals rise, and reputations fall, Can you that place, a place of refuge call, Is that an harbour, I not wish the port, Where Bleeding chavaleers are made a sport, Not that my Satire points at every Fair, Take it ye guilty I intend it there, The beautous innocent sip round the tea, Gay without lightness, without Scandal free.

115 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS PRTVRYP

The ten Commandments. I Thou shall have no other God but me 2 Before no Idol bow the knee 3 Take not the name of God in Vain 4 • Nor dare the Sabath Day profane :;:t1 z 5 ~ ~ (i .. Give both thy Parents honour due en 6 ~ Take heed that thou no Murder do .. ~ 7 ~ ~ Abstain from deeds and Words unclean C) z 8 • ~ Nor steal though thou art poor and mean < ~ 9 !;C Nor make a willful Lie and Love it .. IO What is thy Neighbours dare not covet.

N.B.-The letters that surround this piece make a two line verse which are to remain as now. One of the five vowels only is to be so transposed as shall seem most expedient for the finding out this Puzzle.

'J, H J, 'd )I

To commence with the earliest known ancestors of Mary Harvey, one must go back to the time of the Merovingian Kings, when the Mayors of the Palace practically ruled France. One of the most powerful of these lvlayors was called Duke Pepin, of Heristal, who married Alphaidu; he was a man of great character, energy, and indomitable vigour, who led his warriors to battle, and when the order of the Pope came to protect the missionaries into France it was this Pepin who protected them from the fierce German tribes. St. Boniface, who was working among the pagan people, wrote a - grateful letter, saying : " Without the patronage of the Prince of the Franks, without his order and the fear of his power, he could not guide the people, defend the priests and handmaids of God, 116 JOHN BOYS OF BETTESHANGER, 1\1:ARY HARVEY, 1749-182+ 1756-1849

YICE-ADl\1IRAL H. H. BOYS ADl\URAL HENRY BOYS

DR.A. I-I.BOYS BRIG.-GEN. REGINALD HARVEY HENDERSOX BOYS, C.B., D.S.O.

CHARLEMAGNE or forbid the country the rites of the pagans and their worship of idols." Duke Pepin was succeeded by his son Charles, who, fighting for his own country and the Christian religion, led the Franks against the Saracens and Arabs, who were trying to force the Mahomedan religion upon the Spaniards. The Saracens fell back on Poitiers and retreated to Tours ; thus was Europe saved from being the home of the fierce followers of Mahomet. - Because of the heavy blows showered on the enemy by the Frank leader, he received the name of Charles Martel (or Hammer). Before his death he left the management of the kingdom to his sons, Pepin and Carloman, and the latter, after six years, finding his brother could rule alone, entered a monastery. Pepin le Bref, although short, was very strong. Once at a gathering of the Franks to watch the sport of savage beasts, a lion sprang upon a bull. Pepin sprang to his feet with a cry of challenge : " Which of you dare separate them? " No one answered, so with sword in hand he leapt into the arena, fought and killed both beasts, then, throwing aside the sword, cried: "Am I worthy to be your King?" For ten years he then ruled as king, after which the Pope ordered St. Boniface to crown him on Christmas Eve 800. Two years later Pepin was anointed by the Pope, and his two sons, Carloman and Charlemagne, were consecrated with him. Thus began the new race known as the Carlovingian line. Charlemagne subdued his neighbours, united under his banner the greatest part of the Romano-Germanic nations, and ordered compulsory baptism of the Saxons. He took a great interest in educational matters, and is reputed to have founded the French university. He was raised to be a saint by one of the Antipopes. William of Malmesbury states that when the grandson of Alfred the Great came to demand for his master's son the hand of the English princess he brought with him the spear of Charlemagne. The great-grandson of Charlemagne was the Earl of Flanders, ancestor of William the Conqueror; and Alfred was the ancestor of St. Margaret of Scoth:nd, who married King Malcolm III, 1098. Rudborne, itil his history of Winchester, states that long before the Norman Conquest there was a grammar school in the to,vn under the care of the monks of St. Swithun's Priory, and here were edu­ cated King Ethelwulf and Alfred, while here in more recent years Vlilliam, Bishop of Wykeham, also received his education, his motto being" Manners makyth Man." The statue of King Alfred at Winchester represents him holding aloft the cross-hilted sword, the symbol of Christianity. The English Church, which continues to receive many of the Boys among its clergy, had as one of its first helpers the granddaughter of 117 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Alfred the Great, who was made first Abbess of the Saxon Abbey at Ramsey. Little is left of that early building except the famous rood, unique in England ; this Byzantine sculpture represents Christ '' reigning on the tree, with the Father's hand outstretched above." In the same Abbey is found the most beautiful monu­ ment to a little girl ever erected. It represents a sleeping child with a broken rosebud in her hand, and was sculptured by her father.

In Buchanan's History of Scotland the pedigree of the Kings begins with Ferchard, 305 years B.C.; but this cannot be relied upon, although at the coronation of Alexander III of Scotland, aged seven years, a Highlander Saunachy, of venerable age and commanding appearance, started from the crowd. His breast and shoulders were covered with long white hair, his silver beard almost touched the ground ; a scarlet mantle was thrown over him, and, advancing to the foot of the regal chair, he hailed the King in Celtic language, and with a loud voice repeated his genealogy, conducting it through fifty-six generations from Fergus, the first King of the Scots in Albyn. Not contented, however, with this heraldic feat, he next commenced from Fergus and rapidly enumerated his descent from Hebert Scot, the son of Gaithelglas, who was himself the son of Neol, King of the Athenians, and Scota, da. of Pharaoh, King of Egypt (Fordun, A. Goodal, vol. iii).* One thing is certain : the pedigrees of the families of Tempest, Scot of Scots Hall, Toke, Maude and Harvey can be traced through more than one source from Alan, Lord of Galloway, and from the family of Charlemagne. The surname of Harvey, anciently called FitzHarvey, came from a younger son of Harvey, Duke of Orleans, a commander under \Villiam the Conqueror.

Extracts from H-istory of Scotland. During the reign of William in Scotland, Fergus, the governor of Galloway, left two sons, Gilbert and Elthred, and to prevent any discord divided the paternal estate equally between them. Roland, son of Elthred, collected a body of those who remained loyal to the King and married the sister of William Morvill, Lord High Constable of Scotland, who died without children, and his office descended to Roland, and became hereditary in his family. Alan, his son, married Margaret, daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, and their eldest son, John Baliol, was the father of the last King of Scot­ land of that line. William the Conqueror married Judith's daughter, by whom he • Sir William, the son of Richard de Bosco, became Chancellor to Alexander I. 118 THE OLIFARDS had a worthy and good youth, Henry, who married Adama, daughter of William, Earl de Warren. They had three sons-Malcolm (the Maiden), William (the Lion), and David, made Earl of Huntingdon, whose second daughter, Isabel, was the mother of Robert Bruce. John Dudley Warren Melhuish, the great-grandson of Arch­ deacon Boys of Bombay, is also descended from the Warrens. John de Warrenne was the victor of Dunbar. The Olifards had come to Scotland 1142, and at once rose into notice ; four in succession held the high office of J usticiar, ranking next to the Crown. They climbed high and kept ahead of the Comyns and Stewarts for a hundred years, and few families have been so careful of their records under the old Celtic kings, their byword being " Oliphant is King to us." Two renowned knights, belonging to different branches of the family, were taken prisoners at Dunbar by Edward I, 1296. One of these, William Olifard, was mentioned by almost all the English monks who wrote at that period ; the other, William, acquired lands in Perthshire from Robert Bruce, cousin of Baliol le Scot, and became Lord of Gasknes and Aberdalgie .. Three crescents (the arms of his house) are on his tomb at the village near Perth, and from him sprang every Oliphant who made a name in history after 1312, for the family had more than the old rhyme says ! " There's nought in the Highlands but syboes and leeks, And lang-leggit callants gaun wanting the breeks; Wanting the breeks, and without hose and shoon, But we'll a'win the breeks when King Jamie comes home." To the son of Lord Gaskness was given as wife Elizabeth, a daughter of Robert Bruce, which must have added to the family high spirits and pluck, and later this family joined with the Drummonds in a steady alliance for hundreds of years. Marjorie Bruce, daughter of the great statesman, was taken prisoner by the English, but was rescued afterwards by Walter, the High Steward of Scotland, whom she afterwards married. Catherine, daughter of Laurence, the third Lord Oliphant, who married George Dundas of Arniston, Midlothian, bequeathed to her son an ancient Venetian goblet, with an instruction to preserve it carefully, as upon its integrity should depend the continued prosperity of the famous house of Amiston. This talisman is still preserved, although it was nearly destroyed about 1800 by the malice of an eccentric peeress on a visit to the family, who intentionally threw it to the ground in order to break it, but fortunately her wilful design was frustrated. (Burke.) The sixth Lord Oliphant, who received a peerage from Charles I, chose for his bride the daughter of '\Villiam, Lord Nairne, a son of the 119 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Marquis of Athole. This lady's mother (the Fair Huguenot) was daughter of the Duke of Trimoville, and was the same who in the Civil War in England held the Castle of Latham for three months against Cromwell's forces till the siege was raised by Prince Rupert. Her portrait was drawn by Sir Walter Scott in Peveril of the Peak. '' So much a Briton, that he scorns to roam To foreign climes to fetch his hero home, Conscious that in these scenes is clearly shown Britain can boast true heroes of her own." MARGARET OLIPHANT. Laurence Oliphant, who was fighting for the Jacobites, received a peerage from James II, and he founded the Grey Friars House at Perth in memorv of his two sons, who were killed at Flodden Field. Laurence Oliphant, Abbot of Inchoffray, a fair specimen of the Scottish churchman of that period, had a bastard son from whom sprang the Oliphants who owned Bachilton after the Reformation. James Oliphant, who died in 1847, was the eighteenth in unbroken succession from William upon whom Robert Bruce bestowed the lands of Gasknes, all of whom bore three crescents on their shields. Mrs. James Oliphant, the wife of General Oliphant, who had twelve children, was sister of Lady Craigie ; they were the two daughters of Major-General John Treuman, of the Madras Army, who had married Eleanor Henrietta Charlotte Gordon, daughter of a General Gordon, whose youngest daughter, Henrietta, married the Rev. Markby Janeiro Boys of Bombay, through which alliance more Royal blood came into the Tenants' branch. Baliol, on his dethronement, came into Kent, and soon afterwards the family built Scots Hall, Braborne, near Ashford. He then retired to Normandy to his ancient inheritance, where at length, fa11ing blind and languishing ,vith old age, he died at Castle Galliard. His descendant was buried, 1330, at St. Marie's, Braborne, and also his learned son, l\1ichael, ,vho was Controller of the Household of King Edward IV; his grandson, John Scott, Lieutenant of Dover Castle, married the heiress of Combe. Sir Robert Scott, Lieu­ tenant of the Tower, 1424, left a daughter, Alice, ,vho married William, the nephew of Archbishop Kempe. In the reign of Henry IV William Scott rebuilt Scots Hall and kept his shrievalty there. Sir Edward married a descendant of the ancient family of Honeywood. Sir Thomas Scott married Joan, daughter of Edward Hales, and was a great friend of Edward of Betzhanger. They both received copies of the Instrument of Association, which many gentlemen desired to join as a Christian and loyal society. Sir Edward Boys wrote to his much honoured and respected kinsman, Edward 120 BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD Scott, Esq., that he had got several gentlemen to give their votes at the new Parliament to him and Sir Edward Sandy, ending his letter : " Desiring you not to be backward, I commend you and the cause unto the Lord, and will rest your loving kinsman and friend." Margaret Scott married Thomas Boys of Mersham, thus connecting up again the old families. Brabome remained in the Scott family till I 594 ; only ruins now remain, and the last branch of the Scott family died at Talgarth, North Wales, in 1840. " Scots Hall shall have a fall. Ostenhanger was built in angre [pride]. Somerfield ,vill have a yield. Mersham Hatch shall win the match." In the little church at Brabome is seen a heart shrine, but it is uncertain to whom it belongs, although it is believed to belong to the Scott family. Here on the grave of John Baliol Scott are the words in Welsh:- BA.R.YW.A.HAEZ.BVR.WEHELYTH .. BA.R.A.I.BEIZCH.A.BERY .BYTH. i.e., "What generous race of lineage pure, What proud ones, shall for age endure ? " The deer of Scots Hall park were sold and removed to France by Marshal Fallard, commander of the French contingent engaged against the Duke of Marlborough at the battle of Blenheim, on his release as a prisoner of war under parole from a long and honourable detention in this country. John Toke's family purchased the manor of Scots Hall, Smeeth, about 1400, and lived there till the end of the seventeenth century, when it was sold to George Rooke, Esq.

BALLIOL COLLEGE Before closing with the Scott family, the story must be added of Robert of Balliol, a lord of many lands in the North of England .. He got drunk, so the chronicler put it, in a manner unbecoming to his station in life and insulted the Bishop of Durham, who birched him in the presence of the populace on the steps of the Cathedral, and commanded him to apologise and to make amends for his faults by spending money on a benevolent undertaking. Robert then hired a house at Oxford for I 6 poor scholars, allowing them eighteenpence a day for expenses. His widow, Lady Dervorguille of Balliol, also made a substantial donation to the house, and thus began the famous college of Balliol in the reign of Henry III. The ancient arms of the College ,vas a Catherine wheel, now part of the 121 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS paternal coat of arms of the family, which bears three such wheels, and although the present arms of the College are no,v wholly different, yet there is truth in this assertion, for on the most ancient part of the College are seen two shields carved in stone having a Catherine wheel in each ; it is also the mark of the College on their plate and linen. (Philpots.) At the age of 40 John Wyclif, the religious reformer, was Master of Balliol College. Southey was educated there, and Dr. Jenkyns was its famous Master who once gave out for his sermon's text "The sin that doth so easily beset us," and then dropped into bathos. " I mean," he explained in severe and acid tones, "the habit of contracting debts." Now the under­ graduates were human, and for the first and only time in its history the walls of the College Chapel shook with laughter of an insolvent congregation. Dr. Jowett followed as Master, and he shortened the services, saying that if one could praise God adequately in half an hour, then it was an absurd waste of time to devote three­ quarters of an hour to the proceedings. He also arranged Sunday evening concerts, and allowed Oxford to have a theatre. The original oak entrance gates of Balliol College, having been found in Essex, have been purchased by the College authorities and are being replaced in the College grounds.

ALL SOULS COLLEGE, OXFORD All Souls College was founded by Archbishop Chichele in 1437 to commemorate the souls of those who fell in Henry V's French wars, for which the Archbishop's pugnacious patriotism was very largely responsible. HenryChichele, of Higham Ferrers,Northants, was one of the original Fello,vs of New College, was made Archbishop, and died 1443; his statue, with that of Henry VI, surmounted by a group of souls in stone, adorns the tower. The College was founded to endow study, not teaching. Well-born, well-dressed and mod­ erately educated men were preferred to the unmannerly bookworm. Here came Sir Christopher Wren and gave the famous College sundial with the motto" Pereunt et imputantur." The Punishment Book records'' the Visitor calling on the Warden to punish such of your society as do spend their time in taverns and alehouses, to the scandal of the house." Even this college has a legend. The story says that when the foundations of the College were being dug, a mallard flew out of a drain, and the College poet wrote the following :- " The Griffin, bustard, turkey, capon, Let other hungry mortals gape on, And on their bones with stomach fall hard, But let All Souls men have their mallard." 122 WADHi\M COLLEGE The College of St. Bernard was also founded by Chichele on the site on which St. John's College now stands. The Chichele family pedigree was published in 1705, and the following year MS. collections were added to the College library. Archbishop Chichele built his own beautiful chantry in Canterbury Cathedral, representing him in life and in death, which is always kept in repair by All Souls College. The fellowships of this college were often bought and sold, Royal favourites often being pushed into favour, and they are still the most sought after of any in the Uni­ versity, but the Founder's Kin became so numerous they have been discontinued as free gifts to the family. Two pedigrees were traced through Mary Belke, who were in their male issue entitled to claim the fellowship as kin of the founder. (W. Boys.) Mr. Michael Belke had six daughters ; to five he gave £600 apiece and to the sixth, Mary, he gave £1,000, in consideration of which Mr. Wise settled £30 a year on her at her marriage. Dr. Belke, prebendary of Canterbury, left a legacy to Mary, which he had received of the Oxenden family. Sir Robert Chichele, brother of the Archbishop, was Lord Mayor of London 1411-1421 ; his daughter married Sir Thomas Kemp, whose descendants erected in Pentlow Church the elaborate monu­ ment to Judge George Kemp, his son John, ,vife Eleanor, and fourteen children. Archbishop Kemp was a doctor of both laws ; he had been Master of the Temple and sometime Bishop of Rochester. '' Where­ upon to pray for the souls of them that set hym to schole and them that otherwise preferrid him, he made the paroche churche of Wye a college in XXIV yere of his archbyshopricke of Yorke whereof the governor is a prebendarie and the residents be Minysters for divine service, 1452." (Leyland.*)

WADHAM COLLEGE Nicholas Wadham accumulated the funds, and after his death Dorothy, his wife, founded the College, according to his wish. It is said that she designed the gardens, and exempted fellows from taking Holy Orders. Sir Christopher Wren and T. G. Jackson were the architects. Strange times there have been here, for \vhen Warden Symons ruled in 1831 he made it a habit of pocketing the Communion offertory, and is reported to have said: '' Gentlemen must give a little more liberally ; 1 have been quite out of pocket by the last two or three collections.''

* John Leyland ,vas the tutor toHenryVIII,andlaterhis Ljbrarian. In 1533 he was made " King's Antiquary " and cor.nmanded to search for English antiques. 123 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS In the next chapter follows an account of the children of John and Mary Boys and their grandchildren. Unfqrtunately the descendant of the direct heir of this branch, although he distin­ guished himself as a "Middy," deserted from the Navy and was dismissed from the Service. He went abroad, had a family, but ultimately became an old age pensioner, having been a labourer nearly all his life. (E.B.) His descendant won honour for the family and became Vice­ Admiral H. H. Boys, Flag-Captain at the Nore and in command of the " Howe " and the" Thunderer," 1894, when he retired. Betzhanger was and is a very healthy place, as is seen from the longevity of the family. In addition there is a tradition that Robert died 1705, aged 81, but was only seven years old when his father died. In the direct line only one ancestor died under 70 years since Herbert, who died 1631, aged 36, and the father of Wm. Boys, who died, aged 68, as the result of an accident in the hunting field. His son and daughter-in-law died without children, having. been for many years in Jesus Hospital. His brother William went to Australia and had twelve children. It is interesting to note that Lieut.-Col. G. R. B. Spain, C.M.G., F.S.A., a descendant of Betteshanger, has charge of Lord Northbourne's estate in the North of England. Among the descendants of Thomas and Thomazine came Thomas Boys of Godmersham, whose descendant the Rev. Henry James Boys was Rector of Layer Marney for 35 years, and found as his churchwarden a James Boys-Ley, the great-grandson of the famous Vicar of Coggeshall. A daughter of the Rev. Henry Boys married Colonel Creswell, a member of the South African Government. For 20 years the Post Masters of Godmersham have been Boys and have well carried on the family name, Wm. having had 15 brothers and sisters. In 1850 Colonel E. P. Boys was made Acting Lieut.-Governor of Natal. The Rev. Daniel Boys, Vicar of Benenden for 50 years, married the daughter of Wm. Barrington Richardson of Ber­ mondsey, and had twelve children, all their names being found on his tombstone in the churchyard. His great-grandson is now growing oranges in Natal. It was a sad day for the Boys family when it became known John Boys had wasted so much money that Bettshanger Farmhouse was claimed by the great-grandson of Admiral Morrice, who pulled down both the old Manor and the Farmhouse and built the present handsome residence upon more elevated ground at the distance of about 100 yards northward of the old mansion.

124 BETTESHA.NGER FAR~I HOUSE

OLD BETTESHANGER CHURCH (Photographs from ti,"alercolour sketches by flougliton's Studio, Jlargate)

BETZHANGER MILL

ODE ON LEAVING BETZHANGER, DECEMBER 12TH, 1806 The day at last is come, the parting day, Alas ! I must depart far, far away : I leave this blest retreat, unwilling go, To see ah ! nought but a mien pompous shew. To see Lord S., Lord A., and poor Sir T. Some these may gratify, they please not me. Rich London I detest its noise and strife, They suit not me fond of a country life. What heart too generous feelings ever face, Can with contempt or cold indifference see The pitiable objects that are there, Whose lives are naught but anguish and depression, Deceit with fraud and treachery combined, To dupe, deceive and take in all mankind ; I fear 'tis but too true what Roden ch says, " London's the Devil's place and there lie always stays." I leave these joys so grateful to my mind, I go from hence and leave them all behind, Joys that with gratitude impress my heart, Ah ! joys from which with deep regret I part. By F. BOYS. Betzhanger Mill.-Great was the excitement at the mill about 1725, when young handsome Boys, of the Royal Navy, was found in the loft of the windmill with Sally lVlarsh, the daughter of the miller, known as "Pretty Sally." In those days smugglers abounded and were aided by many of the gentry. They deposited their treasure on Deal beach, and one of the hiding-places was Betzhanger mill loft. Young Boys was a friend of the smugglers, and one day, dressed like a labourer, he gagged and bound the driver of a laundry cart, and, hiding the man and Sally under the baskets, set off to smuggle her on to his ship. But the Excise officers were scouring the district for smugglers and, halfway to Deal, met Boys, who, declaring he had only laundry, escaped inspection but was turned back. Boys got " Pretty Sally " into trouble, and her father declared he would blow out Boys' brains if they were not immediately married. So, after he had resigned his commission, the guilty pair married and went to Australia.

I 125 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS

THE FOLLOWING POEMS HAVE BEEN COPIED from Fanny Boys' (Betshanger) autograph album, 1806. They show that even in those days the country was not always satisfied with their Prime Minister ; perhaps they would not have lived so long if they had then so many taxes as are imposed on the inhabitants of the land in these times.

HIS MAJESTY Two high born Sheriffs haply suited, Were by their loyal friends deputed, To greet our gracious King, On his escape from his vile plot Or dangerous illness 'tis no matter what, I humbly attempt to sing : They both were terribly afraid, For in their heads the plan was laid, Lest their fond hopes be blighted ; Our gracious Sovereign pity took, And with a kind and tender look, Both the esquires were benighted.

Pleased to their very souls delight, Their former stations out of sight, The difference only this, Sir S. on wooden leg did rest, Sir T. with wooden head was blest 0 truely happy bliss. August 9th, 1806.

A POLITICAL FABLE Envy too oft in human breast Distrusts its happiness and rest The spacious mansions of the great, The humblest cottage in the State Alike her conquering power obey ; And own her influence, well they may.­ With emulation so entwin'd That you would not quite easy find POETRY FROM BETESHANGER To separate the two allies For each one with the other vies To keep connected all their views Nor sight of this one object love. All then find fault with those whose fate Has plied in somewhat higher state. The Lab'rer thinks his Master acts From partiality, not facts. The Ma3ter in his turn complains How great his risk how small his gains By constant cares and fears perplex'd And with such sad misfortunes vext And that the taxes (odious thought) Take what his modesty has bought ; For your belief he cites a case Says what an infamous disgrace Says that the base ignoble son Wastes what his father nobly won In luxury that soon or late ·will have destruction or the state. That my Lord's so engaged in play Tums day to night and night to day And none of his fast debts will pay. To him had heav'n been pleased to grant As much, the poor should never want Were the experiment but tried, It's shame if better were applied. Each member of the parliament Has his sharp thoughts to something bent Many extain that they may get Rich seats in the State Cabinet, Oppose all those who are in power And on their heads their failings shower, Talk of the people how opprest Only to please the fickle will Of those the Cabinet who fill : Wish horrid wars, alarms, would cease And cry for blest and happy Peace, Condense the budget and the ways And means, and wish for better days Quickly for what their bosoms burn And all that like to make a rout Are sometimes in and sometimes out, The acts that now they'd pleased to blame If placed in power they'd do the same. 12 127 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS They promise to take off the weight Of taxes that destroy the State Promise to weather out the storm To have a new complete reform, To frame a Peace that's sure to last ; To make amends that evil past ; But make their promises how few To this most sacred tie be true,- A Man where in, where out of place Indeed wear quite a different face When out of place they promised fair But now the Cabinet they share The Tax is odious to their view Extract the old ones and add new That to which most their sage is bent, Is raised from five to ten per cent. They cried for liberty of Press I ts liberty grows less and less ; A peace they promised but no sign Is seen of that sweet bliss divine. In fact they follow the same plan Their predecessor first began, Rutine with ease on rosy bed And on his very footsteps tread. My moral's finish'd. Now the fable I will relate if I am able. In former days as oft we read It was by Providence decreed That animals of every sort Should for their common good resort To a good King, for justice due The Lion who delights to shew Sweet memory to his subjects' crimes Indeed they were true happy times. They sa,v a Minister preside In whom they could ,vith ease confide. He ably parried every blow That was intended to o'erthrow Their constitution and their la,vs Without a just and real cause. The "Admiration of the Age " '' For long experience made him sage.'' There always has been some unquiet Who like to blame and make a riot And in retirement shelter seek. A POLITICAL FABLE Again they ransack'd all the State For one to save them from their fate And to the Council call'd again Their friend, the ,vise progrustic Crane Who had before so ablv shewn, This wondrous talent now well known. As soon as the command they gave He forward came in hopes to save His Majesty and all the realm, Ably presiding at the helm. It griev'd the enemy to hear And panick struct them all with fear That he should take the reigns again Their projects now would be in vain. His subjects hail'd the happy hour Breathing once again to pow'r Their friend quite certain to restore, The blessings they possest before ! He calm'd the State by troubles tost · Regain'd the confidence once lost No length of days on earth to give Did Providence their saviour give For in the prime of active life He fled away from worldly strife : His death once known all ranks await In hopes to get a seat in state All urged their claim to such a place Spoke of their claims with brazen face The Fox as one among the rest With wondrous cunning he was blest, He had abilities 'twas true As he had often pleased to shew. To this one thing they all agreed They brought too many to their mind And the Wise Minister resign'd. New ones succeeded to his place Truly a quiet harmless race, I hope I don't unfairly speak Indeed their brains \Vere very weak They had to match a cunning foe, And verily they found him so.-- The Wolves, a furious hellish race Unheard of cruelty, disgrace Murder'd their Sovereign, in his stead Placed a fell Doeman at their head. 129 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Their lust to satiate, he destroyed All ranks till cruelty was cloyed. They thought they would not better do Than at such deeds their pleasure show For who o'er Doemans can so well Sway the fiance sceptic none can tell, As one who's sure to go to H-11. The Minister to give them ease And hoping by this act to please .Patch'd up a truce, no not a peace War preparations did not cease The Wolves in quiet could not rest The truce was nothing but a jest. By no good ties or treaties bound They easily excuses found, To war again, for soon prepared Their enemies to battle dar'd, Commotions in the State arose The Pilot here quite wisely chose In this new storm to quit the helm That passed! threaten'd to o'erwhelm, The poor abilities too weak, That the Old Fox should take the lead He once had promised that if e'er He should in council take a share He would take off each grievous tax And give them happy pleasing Pax. Many with pleasure hailed the day Which promis'd them to ,vell repay Their anxious case in such a choice And make all animals rejoice But their fond hopes too much deceive And leave them nothing but to grieve. Judge how great is their surprise What passions in their bosoms rise They find their wishes are in vain What's done before is done again. They see no grievous taxes cease They hear of war and nought of peace Instead of taking off a tax The Ministers with new ones vex The former statesman's plan pursue Nor practise anything that 1... ew, The very acts they used to blame They now forget and do the same. 130 A POLITICAL FABLE Let us then willing ope our eyes And look with ease thro' their disguise; Let us then know that many wait For nought but pickings from estate, 'Tis their profession to upbraid. Their laurels bud, as others fade Why at their will anger bame Our livelihood we all must came. December 4th, 1806.

131 CHAPTER II

THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN OF WILLIAM BOYS AND MARY HARVEY The Margate Branch " Spectemur Agendo " HE third son of John Boys of Betzhanger was called John, not only after his father, but after his elder brother, T who died an infant. He studied for the law, and practised at Margate, becoming magistrate for the Cinque Ports and county of Kent. He married Martha, a daughter of the Rev. - Stephens, Rector of Goodnestone.

ON THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE LAW Two lawyers, when a knotty cause was o'er, Shook hands, although they'd wrangled hard before. " Zounds ! " said the client, who was cast, " pray how Can you be friends, that were such foes just now ? " " You fool," says one, " we lawyers, though so keen, Like shears, never cut ourselves-but what's between." Among Boys' many papers were found the following notes on the Chandos-Brydges case, in which he must have taken, if not an active part, a great interest. 29th April 1803.-\Vhen Mr. Hasted was examined in the House of Lords on the Pedigree of Brydges, in the Chandos Peerage case, he acknowledged " that he took the Pedigree from Gentlemen of the County since the Revolution, from their own mouths, believing that they would tell him the Truth ! " An interesting document in connection with the deception practised on the House of Peers as to the claims of the Chandos Peerage runs:- " The following statement was made by J. B. :- " I would give advice in any court of judicial enquiry, and it is at your service in furtherance of your endeavour to reserve from calumny the just judgement of the Peers on that occasion. In the Canterbury Registry, from all the Parishes in the Diocese (except the exempt Parishes, of which lVIaidstone is one) there are duplicate returns of Transcript annually ... but a strange event is attendant on the Ore returns, the Duplicates are perfect, ... and in Pairs from 1640, but in that and the following years 1641-2, there is no transcript in the Archdeacons Court, consequently 132 THE CHANDOS-CLAIM it must be supposed that the transcript was del . . . for 2 years or they must have been abstracted from Registry. I cannot believe there was no Transcript. . . . The document 1640 was drawn up by Mr. Miller himself, and must have been taken away from the Registry to enable the copyist to fabricate another. The fabricated signature is so well done in general that it appears it deceived all superficial observers, but certainly the Deception com­ pletely vanishes upon a close Inspection. . . . Proof ,vas wanting. I would refer to the state of the Ink on the Paper ... the whole sheet has evidently been dipped in some fluid before the ink was suffi­ ciently dry, for almost every letter had run in .... A clumsy attempt at Impost ... that I am surprised the house of Peers did not detect it." Lord Chandos was afterwards the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. Margate, 13 Feb. 1835. . . . If you contemplate to add to your disclosures, any account of the Ore-fabrication, allow me to suggest that it should be given to the public in a manner the most calculated to excite attention and Investigation. It is not an ordinary affair. I had originally imbibed as a great majority of ... an impression, that the Chandos­ Claimant had been dealt with not quite fairly ; the dexterity dis­ played in the Auto-biog. would have confirmed that impression but for my discovery relative to the Ore-transcript, and which at the first moment quite confounded me, have subsequently been entirely removed by the Perusal of your Book. The Insinuations and Imputations of Injustice in Sir E. B.'s book are injeniously inter­ woven, at Intervals well chosen, by Language well directed, and by Argument and Touches to the feelings impressive. With great Tact he places in a strong, but false Light, the smallest Irregularities of his Judges, and to which a Committee of Privileges can scarcely be the subject. He mystifies or magnifies all that can be made convertible to his object, but (in my judgement) seals his own con­ demnation by avoiding in a most extraordinary manner to touch any Part of the evidence ! And why is this ? To nine out of every ten readers the cause, the most overwhelming cause would occur without such a publication of the evidence as you have given ; and in its absence, the consequence would have been a big . . . upon the Peer-judgment. It is now thirty-six years ago since I was initiated into the system of judicial enquiries and it has fallen to my lot to be a Partaker of no small share upon divers important occasions ; but I can truly say that I remember no case, at all to be compared with that of the Chandos-Claim, where so much system of criminality has been long and deliberately pursued, in the Fabrication of Documents, without a probability of bringing the offender or offenders within reach of Justice. The whole 133 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS case is one which every Peer and judicial Person ought to under­ stand ; and it is scarcely less important to every member of society and to the Historian, in its aim, in its end, and in its consequences ; especially if the claim should ever be reviewed. I am, dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, JOHN BOYS. P.S.-Has it ever occurred to you that when the living witnesses at the County Registry who are not known at Sir E . . . . and the man at St. Nicholas who copied the Harbledown Register shall be gone ; and to which let me Suppose the in ... Transcript de­ stroyed to Fire or otherwise, the question might be put in jeopardy before a jury ? The Lords vote of course on the letter of canvass would have better followed than preceded their Judgment. The Language of it has not closed the Door yet a future claim . . . be exceedingly difficult to prove the Maidstone Entry a Forgery to the satisfaction of a .... its suspicious appearance would be no Proof, and the Transcript at present stands admitted in Evidce. (J.B.). John built the Clifton Baths, with the curious inscription: " Domine qui requora placas hoc opus tuere." The interest John Harvey Boys, his son, showed in pedigree work is hard to overestimate, but that it was done thoroughly is seen from the result. During the Civil War it was necessary that banns of marriage should be published three times in some market place near the residence of the parties. Marriages were solemnised by mayors and magistrates as well as by clergymen. Robert Boys, in 1655, was residing at Kingston, near Barham, and his intended wife, Mary Friend, was a minor about 19 years old ; the banns were published in the market place of Sandwich. In these banns he was called Robert Boyce ; if his name were misstated, it would have been sufficient to prevent the legal solemnisation of the marriage, or at least to have raised a question upon its validity afterwards. That such was the effect, and that the marriage was therefore postponed and perfarmed elsewhere, may reasonably be inferred from the fact that there was a blank space left below the clerk's entry of the banns for the usual certificate of the marriage having been afterwards solemnised, and such blank remains to the present day ; from which circumstance it is clear that no marriage did take place there, nor has it ever been ascertained where it did take place, although a large number of children were afterwards regularly registered at Kingston as the lawful issue of Robert and Mary Boys. (J.B.) Evidently Boys of Betzhanger was satisfied they were legally married, or he ,vould not have taken Robert as his bailiff at the farm. John Boys goes on to state his views, which are added here as even to-day they may be a lesson to many. '' It is difficult to 134 AN OLD PEDIGREE understand the working of men's minds and to account for the Disposition which sometimes shews itself of a Readiness to adopt an uncharitable construction, when a charitable one, more obvious and rational, presents itself ; and it is singular to observe how many Persons, having once caught up by a first impression, become almost insensible to any other." What may have happened is this. An unintentional mistake was made as to the name of Robert's father by one of Mary Friend's family or some other person (residing nearer to Sandwich than himself) who· put in the banns for him, or by the Town Clerk who. proclaimed the banns in the market place of Sandwich. (J.B.) " I possess an old Latin Bible published by Lugduni MnLIIII, which contains the following manuscript." (JOHN BOYS, 1837.) Transcrip. ab originali Edi Bois. (Transcribed from the original by Edward Boys.) Genealogia matemae familae vet : de Coles a Emnete 157 s. Coles ortu de Bois v de Bosco. (Coles sprung from Boys or de Bosco.) Joh de Bois ob. triginti ann. p. conquestum ut Traditio est. 1. (died 30 years after the Conquest (1096), according to tradition.) T. Steph. Richardus de Bois cum Adria ux. f (Wife.) T. Hen. 2. Johs. de Bois duo fil et tres fils. I (Two sons and three daughters.) Tem. s Rich. Tho. de Bois cum Iana ux. I Robtus d Bois we &J Fil ign. I (wife and daughter unknown.) Gulielm d Bois cum Maude de bonyngtone habuit quat Fil et 7 Fils. Gens. I (had four sons and seven daughters.)

Ricldus d Bois. EdmJidus d Bois et ux Marya ob. de vuln 21 Ed. apud Dela. partur: obiit et sepult. Wingham. (died of wounds at Deal.) (born, died and buried at Winglwn.) I I Temp. Ed. 2. Thomas Boys es Margaretta Johns cum Marya I de bonyngtone Kancie. d Emneth. continato I 35 Ed. 3. Johannis fs Sara 4 fil. Catherine ux . I Guhelm & Iana Coles. ob. 1425. Richardi Coles. I I Johns es Agnes. 2 Fil et multae Filae Thomas Coles. (2 sons and many daughters.) de bonyngtone Kancie. HaudbyI Coles de Northton. I Tem. Hen. 7. Francis Coles. I Tern. Hen. 8. Richard Coles. 135 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS There is recorded only one baseborn son in the family, this the child of Elizabeth Boyce, in 1738, who died the following year. There was an amusing article published by Joshua Waddington, who was accused of painting with vulgar language the house of a Mr. Taylor in the town, and this resulted in a law case. John Boys was accused, but acquitted. Mr. Taylor subsequently com­ mitted suicide. Dr. Jarvis paid John Boys £200 in aid of the expenses of his unjust prosecution. Then letters began to be delivered anony­ mously-a deed in which Mr. John Boys of Hengrove seems to have been a ringleader, and his sister-in-law, Sarah Cozens, was fined £100 by Lord Denham, but chose prison instead of paying the fine. The grandson of John was called Toke Harvey Boys; he was a man of a type which is unhappily becoming extinct ; his word was his bond, and he was known as one of the straightest Englishmen ever met. He was clerk to the Justices of the Cinque Ports for 43 years, this office having been in the family since 181 I, with only the very short interregnum of four years. His death was an irreparable loss to Margate, and also to some extent a national loss, as he had fulfilled the family legend and left only five daughters. A beautiful alabaster monument with coloured coat of arms was erected in Margate Church, where he was buried. A few lines must here be added on the Tokes, into which family the Boys had married. They were descended from Le Sire de Toque, who came over with the Conqueror, and lived at Godinton House, which was built 1165, and had a stained glass window bearing that date, which is still preserved. In connection with the old house the staircase and a certain room had a weird story to tell. A certain member of the family formed an unholy liaison with a young priest, and their meeting place was in the old room above the stairs. One day the dead body of the unfortunate lady was found there, her murderer being the priest. Another legend says the young couple were found in the confessional, clasping each other in a deadly embrace ; .while yet a third legend says the daughter of the Toke family was imprisoned in a room by having the doors and windows blocked up. Years afterwards her skeleton was found. The history of the bricked-up wall bears evidence of truth, for according to a more recent legend the " blue bedroom " was originally bricked up, and when opened was found to contain a four-poster bedstead, some chairs and a picture of a lady in white. In the church of St. Mary, Great Chart, are the famous Toke brasses. One relates that Nicholas Toke married five wives, whom he survived, and that at the age of ninety-three he walked 136 THE BATTLE OF TOURNAY to London to seek a sixth, but died before he found her. His first wife was a Mary Knatchbull. Fighting at Tournay and Courtray, 1808, Captain Boys was several times mentioned in the French dispatches. "·Le succes de ce manreuvre fait honneur au General Boys consequence il fait au supreme Consul d'Etat de le nommer Marchael Generalisme des armees et a le decorer du grand Cordon de la legion d'Honeur. Tou·s ce 9:ue s'est pape a four est in titre d'eloge aux differens corps d'Armes. ' (F.B.)

137 CHAPTER III

BETTESHANGER TENANTS' BRANCH.

" The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them, high or lowly, And ordered their estate.''

HE Rev. Richard, 1785-1866, fourth son of John Boys and Mary (Harvey), was educated at King's School, Canterbury, T from where he ran away home one night to Betzhanger, as something had upset him ; he arrived before breakfast, but on being found by his father was immediately sent back to school in charge of the groom. He joined the Royal Engineers, but later took his degree M.D. at Cambridge. He was appointed chaplain to the East India Company, and junior chaplain at St. Helena, 1811, and in 1815 senior chaplain, being incumbent of St. Paul's, the country church just above Plantation House. Boys was a man of uncompromising type. In the pulpit he attacked Admiral Plampin, in a most outspoken manner, for living with a woman not his wife. The subject of the sermon was suggested to the author by the great contrast he observed between the little effects of the divine truths of the Gospel upon the minds of the generality of the higher orders of society, and the most remarkable change which, by the same divine truths, had lately been wrought upon the mind and conduct of an abandoned woman, whom he, in his ministerial capacity, had been called to visit ; a change which the author himself had witnessed to his great satisfaction and joy. The sermon was preached at the country church at St. Helena, when it gave grave offence, insomuch that the Governor (Sir Hudson Lowe) asked to read it. This request was not granted, but the reply was given that if the Governor was particularly anxious to know the contents of the sermon, he might do so by attending the town church on the fallowing Sunday, as it would then be preached again verbatim. The text for the sermon was " Verily I say unto you, that publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." The Governor did not attend, but sent his military and confidential secretary to take down the sermon in shorthand. All eyes were fixed on him, sitting in the corner of the Governor's pew, where he had never been seen before. The object of his coming was 138 THE REV. RICHARD BOYS naturally guessed by all. Little, however, did he or the congre­ gation expect to hear read the 20th verse of the second Lesson for the day (Luke xx), when its striking application could not fail to be noticed by all, who naturally supposed that the chaplain had selected the chapter for the purpose ; and many, of course, were induced to examine their Prayer Books to see if it was really the regular Lesson for the day. The words of the verse were these : " And they watched Him, and sent forth their spies who should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of His words, so that they might deliver Him to the power and authority of the governor.'' After this nothing was heard of the sermon. (M. J. T. Boys, Brighton.)

The first man Napoleon spoke to on landing _at St. Helena was the Rev. Richard Boys, and when Ciprian, Napoleon's major-domo and a Catholic, died, there being no priest on the island, Boys and his junior chaplain buried the man according to the rites of the Protestant Church. Napoleon was astonished when he heard of it, and said a priest would not have done so much for a Protestant. As a token of -appreciation of their conduct Napoleon desired to give the two chaplains a present ; a snuffbox was offered to Boys, but was refused owing to the severe penalties attached to any acceptance of presents from Napoleon, but it was given to Boys after his death. Napoleon also left Boys an armchair and walking stick, which still remain cherished possessions of the family. In 1829 Boys left the island, taking with him two masks, which he asserted had been taken from the face of Napoleon after death by Rubidge. One mask passed into the possession of Dr. Sankey, of Oxford. On his return to England he left behind his dog, which some months later found its way to the East End of London and suddenly found its old master, much to his surprise, as no one could ever trace how it had left St. Helena. About the same time the Rev. James Boys while in India, asleep one night in his tent with his dog beside him, awoke to behold a tiger carrying off his dog. The Rev. Richard Boys went to Rio de Janeiro as chaplain, but gave such cause for great scandal there by his behaviour on the occasion of a public Catholic procession that Mr. Thornton sent him home and reported his conduct to the Board of Directors. After his ret11rn from St. Helena he became Vicar of Tudeley, Kent, to whic~ he was evidently appointed as a " warming pan " -which was very common in those days-for the Hon. Sir Francis Stapleton.

139 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Monday Evening, 6th December, '42. " My dear Edward, '' I fully intended to reply to your letter to-day in time for our postman ; but other engagements interfered; and now, I fear, you will not get this till late on Wednesday after your return from Margate, where I hope and trust you will go to congratulate my mother on her birthday. vVere I so near as you, nothing would stop me. I should much like to know your opinion of her general health. . . . Your wife, Helena tells us, is quite jolly. . . . My knee, too, is gradually recovering its usual tone by a successful application of a very small blister. I have applied eight, and mean to put on the 9th. It is free from all pains night and day, except an occasional twitch, which shows that all is not yet quite right. It is, however, very weak, and the swelling has not quite subsided. If Ann would try this mode of application of the blister, I should hope she would find the same result : it is near akin to a seaten. " As to the Pedigree-it certainly does John infinite credit. But, after all, cui bono ? I have not had time to examine it very minutely-but I shall take good care of it and when I have thoroughly studied it, I may have some­ thing more to say. All that strikes me at present is-' How are the mighty fallen ! ' Here am I, of noble race of Normans, and after 36 years' service, am still a poor curate ! ! No thanks to the Whigs in any shape or degree for the glorious conclusion of the Chinese War-you read nothing but that wretched lying Morning Chronicle, till you have persuaded yourself that the egregious Joily and imbecility of the Whigs is all sound wisdom. The leading men of that click were, in my opinion, a set of political vagabonds, who did everything they could to sacrifice the interests of their country to keep their own place; and amongst other things, they involved the country most unwisely and recklessly in both the Chinese and Afghan War, from which the wisdom of the Tories only could honorably extricate the country. The Property Tax, too, was made necessary by the Wigs: they alone must bear the odium of it, tho' the Tories must bear the principal ONUS of it. I am really astonished that you should be so blind and infatuated as seriously to believe in the wisdom and propriety of Whig politics : indeed, I hardly think you do. But consistency, you think, requires external appearance. Tho' it is very possible a man many continue to argue, and to hold, the wrong side of a question, till at last he persuades himself it is the right side -and that, I fear, is your case. I can easily conceive a person's interest leading him to the opposite side of his convictions ; but it is hard to believe that his convictions are changed : time and perseverance, however, sometimes effect wonders." {REV. RICHARD BOYS.)

In another letter he wrote : "They are injuring religion most terribly with all the forms and lengthened services ,vhich have taken place in the Church in London. It will make many unthinking people go less to Church. I know the Bishop of London finds he has gone too far, and he has been very uneasy abottt it and in consequence The Devil must have something to do in it." THE REV. MARKBY BOYS He married Agnes Graham, and they had nine children, each son being given the name of a place \\"here he had held a chap­ laincy. While doing clerical work in India, it is said, he returned one day to find his ,vife and one child dead and buried from plague. His eldest son, ,vho was being educated as a surgeon, had a terrible accident ,vhile studying at the hospital through the slipping of a knife ,vhile cutting a stick ; it went straight into his eye, the sight being destroyed, and through sympathy within a fortnight the sight of the other eye had gone as well. " Blind Harry," as he was called, inherited the musical talent of his family, and he could whistle a good second to his own accompaniment on the piano. Several of the family have been composers. Believed to have been written by Blind Harry Boys : '' The taper has quivered its last ! Oh hope must I bid thee farewell ? I must for the mandate is past That consigns me to darkness to d,vell ; .In vain on my eyeballs shall play, The blaze of meridian skies, No sun shall e'er gladden my day, No moon on my midnight arise. This life's but a feverish dream, And short in mortalitys night, At the dawn of eternitys beam I shall wake into transport and light. Oh the wonders that hour shall unfold, What glories around me shall blaze, I, the sun shall unclouded behold And for ever rejoice in his rays." l\1arkby Janeiro Thornton Boys was the third son of the Rev. Richard, born 1819, in Janeiro. He graduated at Wadham College, Oxford ; then went to Holy Trinity, Maidstone, in which parish church is the old tomb of Catherine du Bois ; from here he moved to St. Pancras and Wimbledon. He was made Archdeacon of Bombay, and remained in India sixteen years, during which time he and his family had the trying experience of going through the Indian Mutiny, living in Lucknow for several weeks. One of the first things his little daughter " Bella " remembered was her Ayah and the band playing " The Campbells are coming " at the relief of the town. This child narrowly escaped death as an infant while moving into the Indian hills, for one night, to save trouble in unpacking her cot, she ,vas put into a large basket, and K 141 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS when lifted in the morning a huge cobra ,vas found underneath her. An amusing incident was told by the Archdeacon about the christening of an infant. To the sponsors : " Name this child." Answer : " Hacts." Rather deaf. " What ? " Answer: " Hacts." '' There isn't such a name.'' Ans,ver : '' Yes, there is. I've got Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and I ,vant ' Hacts ' [Acts]." He received as a marriage fee £800 from a Bombay merchant, who said he was thankful to have been married to a very good wife! While stationed in Rajkote, India, Boys periodically visited Bhooj. This journey of 111 miles he generally accomplished between gunfire and sunset, using seven horses and a boat for the purpose, the boat crossing the Gulf of 24 miles in a little over two hours. This was considered a great feat, and much praise was given to the English sahib by the natives. Archdeacon Boys died in 1904, four months before his surviving daughter, Isabella Cawston. His son, Dr. A. Harry Boys, who ai,vays has a joke to tell, is the chief representative of the Betzhanger branch in England. Shortened Narrative of the Captivity, Adventures and Escape of Commander Edward Boys when he was a midshipman on H.M. ship " Phrebe," 1803. [He was the fifth son of John Boys and Mary Harvey.) Written in the West Indies, but not published till 1831 on account of Political Events. Dedicated to Rear-Admiral Sir Ed. W. E. R. Owen, K.C.B., M.P., as an offering of esteem-grandfather of the Rev. E. Owen, now owner of Boys Hall, Mersham. In 1802 Edward Boys was paid off as master's mate of the '' Royal Sovereign," bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Harvey, K.B. In 1803 he joined the '' Phrebe" frigate, and was sent to the Mediterranean until the renewal of war with France . . . . Having reached our station off Toulon, t,vo armed boats under the orders of Lieut. Tickell, with one of which I was entrusted, were sent in shore for the purpose of capturing any vessel running along the coast, that he might judge ,vorth the risk of attack. Having gained an eligible situation under the land near Cape Cecie, we lay upon our oars until dawn, ,vhen two cutters were discovered standing in to the \vestward ; they were instantly boarded and carried without resistance ; one proved to be from Genoa, bound for Marseilles. Unfortunately in another encounter we were captured by the enemy, and our refusing to answer questions respecting the strength and situation of Lord Nelson was construed into contempt, and so excited the rage of the Captain 142 HYMN TUNES BY THE BOYS FAMILY

K2

COMMANDER EDWARD BOYS of the '' Rhin '' that he told us we were pirates ; this novel information did not in the least disconcert us, for we suspected the ignorance of the man, who we afterwards learnt had been a barber ; the whole tenor of his conduct evinced the dreadful convulsion which society in France must have undergone during the revolution, for such an ignorant, low-bred fellow to have risen to the command of a frigate ! The prisoners were removed to Tarascon, where the general in charge, on being asked if paroles were to be signed, replied " No, a British officer values his honour too much to render his signature necessary.'' When this was communicated to us it may easily be imagined with what patriotic importance the compliment to our national character was received ; with what feelings of pride his Britannic Majesty's midshipmen resolved to merit the eulo­ gium of the enemy. Early in December we were taken 40 miles from Toulouse, and then to Verdun. We ate our Christmas dinner at a miserable village, where we stopped the night. At one place while a dispute was going on I entered a bedroom off the room, and observing on the mantel various little images in plaster of Paris, in the midst of which was a bust of the adored Buonaparte, and no one being near, I could not resist the temptation of placing its head down­ wards, in a vessel which was no ornament to a mantelpiece, nor usually found there ; the arrangements of the images I also altered, so as to make them appear ridiculing this misfortune of the'' premier Consul." Proceeding on our journey we tried to resist being put into a prison, when we were told " You are in prison by a counter order lately received from Anch, for putting Buonaparte's head into a ' pot-de-chambre' "! I ! During our marches, in default of prisons, we were quartered in public houses. Several times during the years of captivity we tried to escape. Once I purchased two greyhounds, and hearing that the fortifica­ tions abounded in wild rabbits, the dogs were placed at the use of the governor marechal des logis, who was equally pleased with the expectation of sport, for they verily believed that such beautiful English dogs would kill every rabbit they saw. The dogs, however, had been taught to follow only their master, so that on their refusing to go, I and my companions offered to accompany them. We took different directions round the ramparts, kicking the grass under pretence of looking for rabbits ; few were found and none was killed ; but we succeeded in making our observations and returned fully satisfied of the practicability of escape, though the difficulties we had to encounter were to scale a ,vall, to ascend 143 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS the parapet unseen, to escape the observations of three or four sentinels and the patrols, to descend two ramparts of about forty­ five feet each, to force two large locks, and to get over two draw­ bridges. These were not more than we expected, and we, there­ fore, prepared accordingly. At length after nearly six months from the escape from prison, and landing at Ramsgate, with gratitude that the Almighty Disposer of events had vouchsafed to support and protect us . . . I fell down and kissed with rapture the blessed land of liberty, 1809.

Admiral Henry Boys was second son of Capt. Edward Boys, R.N. He was educated at Ramsgate and went to sea first in the "Edinburgh," under Capt. Wm. Wilmot Henderson, 1837. They were first at the attack and capture of Beyrout, where Henry was Midshipman in charge of the launch and greatly distinguished himself by removing the enemy's powder under fire. This feat is the foundation of an incident which is related in the well-known boy's book The Three Midshipmen, by Kingston. At the Bombard­ ment of Acre, 1840, Boys was wounded in the leg, one of the enemy's shot striking the muzzle of a gun on the quarter deck, and an iron splinter struck him. Capt. Willes wrote to Commander Browne in 1846 that Boys was one of the smartest officers, good seaman and perfect gentleman he had known for a long time. Later, as Capt. Boys, he was court martialed for letting the ''Warrior'' do damage to the '' Royal Oak." The report of The Morning Post says: "When the intelligence of the acquittal of Capt. Boys became known on board the ' Warrior ' three tremendous cheers were given for him by the crew," and at the end of the article it states : " Seldom has an officer come out of a court martial more thoroughly exculpated, and rarely has a verdict of acquittal been pronounced concerning one who from his personal character and his position in the Service better deserved hearty and general congratulations. In l\,1ay, 1874, Capt. Boys was appointed to succeed Capt. Hood as Director of Naval Ordnance. They were great friends, which was rather remarkable as Admiral Hood seemed never able to make a joke, whilst Admiral Boys was very fond of a piece of fun. Whilst at the Admiralty the King of Portugal made Admiral Boys a Commander of the Military Order of St. Bento D'Avis, but this, on account of regulations, he was bound to return. When Rear­ Admiral he was 2nd in Command of the Particular Service Squadron that was assembled during the Russian scare in 1878, when his son William was a naval cadet in one of the ships of the Squadron. Admiral Henry Boys died March 16th, 1904, in his 84th year. 144 ADMIRAL EDWARD BOYS His daughter married Sir Reginald Henderson.. One of his sons became Brig.-Gen. Reginald Harvey Henderson Boys, C.B., D.S.O., 1901, and served in the South African and Europea~ Wars, and received thanks from Hong Kong for services rendered during the plague, 1894. This second son William became Captain in the Navy. Henry, the sixth son of John and Mary Harvey, married Mary, daughter of Edward Boys, a magistrate for Kent. As a grazier Henry was well known for his South Down sheep ; a small ram belonging to him weighed live weight 169 lb., and he received a silver cup for it, which is in the possession of the Fredville branch of the family. The Romney Marsh sheep, as they are called, thrive there better than any other breed, as they are adapted to the severe winter weather, and thrive when exposed to the chilling east wind. The Kent sheep, which were first exported to New Zealand by Henry Boys, are remarkable for arriving at an extra­ ordinary degree of fatness at an early age, and for growing large fleeces of very fine wool. Their legs are somewhat long, and the bones are large in comparison with other breeds. The following trial may convey useful information to farmers. (\Villiam, son of Thomas and Thomazine of Bonnington, married Bennett, daughter of Sir John Guldeford about 1490.)

A Shortened Account of the important trial brought by the Honble. and Rev. Francis North, Earl of Guildford, against Henry Boys, Esq., for an alleged Breach of Covenant, l\Iarch 15, 1838, at the Maidstone Assizes. Attornies, Messrs. Boys and Son, Margate. "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rend'ring none? "-Merchant of Venice. The following trial is submitted to the notice of the public, at the earnest solicitation of a number of agriculturalists, who volun­ teered to bear the expense of publication ; that it may serve as a caution to occupiers of poor land, how they enter into covenants, which by perversion of language (such as calling of down land pasture) may subject them to unjust and expensive lawsuits. I am the lessee, under the Earl of Guildford, of two farms, called Mailmains and Barville, in the E. of Kent. In my lease I entered into a covenant to pay an increased rent of £10 an acre per annum for every acre of meadow or pasture which I should convert into tillage. In 1835 I broke up several portions of Barville down, and his lordship brought an action to recover the amount of increased rent ; he alleged that I had put into a state of aration 42 acres of .Z\1 almains Down, and also 18 acres of pasture ; to which I replied I had not broken up any part of 145 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Mailmains Down, or any pasture land. In 1826 I applied to the late Lord Guildford to have the lands revalued, with a view to reduce the rent ; his lordship, in a spirit of equity, immediately directed Mr. Elgar of Wingham to look over the land, which resulted in Mr. Elgar saying I was entitled to £60 reduction. In 1827 on his lordship's decease, the new agent, Mr. Peppercorn, informed me this reduction would be no longer allowed. He drew attention to the noble and reverend tenant, a gentleman whose father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had for more than a century been the tenant of the estate. '' It is not contended that the defendant has not paid to the uttermost farthing in the shape of rent the value of the land. . . . But it is the penalty Lord Guildford asks, it is the ' Pound of Flesh ' he seeks, and you (to the jury), I trust, will take care that he takes not with it a drop of his tenant's ' blood.' " In the reserved rent Henry Boys was asked to pay £10 an acre for 42 acres of land, actually valued at 5s. an acre. The jury consulted for a short time, and returned a verdict in favour of the defendant, a burst of applause greeting the announce­ ment. [The first dispute over shooting game arose from the gamekeeper of Lord Guildford summoning Henry for shooting rabbits, when he was convicted and fined 40s. He, however, appealed against the conviction at the Canterbury Sessions, and it was quashed. So that the defendant retained his right, and his lordship was worsted, as it was found that the right of shooting game had been reserved on his lease.] To say Lord Guildford had been badly advised would be to palliate the error of our faculty at the expense of another .... He pursued a course more in accordance with his former feelings, when I was prosecuted for killing game on my farm ; and now, after a long and anxious trial, he has once more failed in legal proceedings. Notwithstanding all this, I do yet indulge in the hope (however vain that hope may be) that his lordship's high station and Christian calling will prompt him to let me live in peace during the few years I am compelled to remain his tenant. I will only add that my costs exceeded £300, of which I have recovered £219 from Lord Guildford, the remainder being gene­ rously tendered by my friends. Mailmains. 13th June 1838. Henry Boys.

In the action the Hon. C. Law, counsel for the defendant, badly . harassed most of the witnesses for the plaintiff, one at least of whom did not seem able to speak the truth. " By many persons it is imagined that paring and burning old 146 MAILMAINS FARM sheep Downs, and putting them into a state of cultivation, is the means of reducing the number of sheep kept on those lands, and that the produce of the wool is thereby lessened. These Ideas are totally unfounded, for there are no sheep walks to be found that by paring and burning may not be made to support, or breed, a greater quantity of sheep than they can do in a state of old turf or heath.-Henry Boys." Henry Cowell Boys, son of Henry of Mailmains, died in Jesus Hospital, 1899, aged· 86, having been admitted 1885.

At the request of the Board of Agriculture Henry Boys published a general view of the agriculture of the county of Kent and the state of its roads, remarking that the roads round Bromley were worse than in any other part of England. He was one of the Commissioners of Sewers for East Kent, and did much to promote the drainage of Finglesham and Eastry Brook. He wrote an excellent treatise upon paring and burning the soil, and these works have been held in the highest estimation in the kingdom and were translated into French by the order of Napoleon as a guide to improvements in France. " Let the land," he said, "when burnt be perfectly cleaned from charlock, or other weeds, by growing turnips until the weeds are totally eradicated by hoeing, etc. Let the turnips be fed off the land by sheep lying on the land day and night ; and then sow it with barley and clover, the latter to be fed off with sheep folding them on the land for wheat. Lastly return the straw produced upon the land in manure mixed with clay or loam or any other fresh earth near at hand . . . or the land may be sown with samson to remain till a turf is farmed fit for paring again.'' In John Boys' days women's wages for weeding were 4d. a day, later becoming 10d.; children received 6d., while the cook, besides her keep, received £4 to £5 a year.

147

PART III

THE ESSEX BRANCH, AND NOTES

149

THE ESSEX BRANCH, AND NOTES AVING traced fairly fully the history of the great Kentish clan of Boys (which was not included in the book H written by the Countess Cleveland, who stated _" This branch opens a wide field of investigation, on which I must leave others to win their spurs "), it seems only fair to add a short account of the Essex branch, which lived in that county since 1086, and which in later years intermarried with the Kentish family. Sir John Boys married Juliana Gunnesse; he appears in the Roll of Arms in the reign of Edward I. 1253. Johan de Boys married Joan, and they were given free warren in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, and the lands of his father, who had done homage. John Boys was Bailiff to Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward I, and an order was issued to the Keeper of the King's Peel to.deliver to Joan four oxen, cows, etc., taken by certain men when pursuing Thomas, late Earl of Lancaster. In this reign Sir John de Boys was returned for co. Lincoln as owing military ser1ice against the Scots, 1300. 1362. Sir Guy Bois, who married Cecily Boswill, was Sheriff of Essex and Herts. Legend says the famous archer, Simon de Boys, of Theydon Garnon, having beaten Henry V in a bout of archery, was commanded to take the name of Archer, and his grandson was definitely known as Richard Archer. Richard de Bosco, constable of Corfe Castle, was allowed a farm and 20 marks yearly for its keeping. This Richard had been given free warren in Wynterbourne, Stapleton and Werdeford (Glouces­ ter), and had to collect together 11 ,ooo footmen in the county of Stafford and Salop so that the sheriffs of the counties could, on certain days and at certain places, select those they considered the strongest and most powerful for active service. Richard was next made keeper of Headington Manor and given free warren in Useburn. He married Agnes, and was unfortunately murdered, 1367, about which time pardon was granted to Hugh de Gernagan of his flight, and of the outlawry promulgated against him for the death of Richard de Bosco, on condition he made peace with the rela­ tions of Richard and took his trial if anyone proceeded against him. His son, Henry de Boys del Useburn, ,vho married Alice, was given lands and was made tenant-in-chief, his father having done homage. He bore arms Barry (8) gules and or (or and argent in blason) on a chief indented (3) sable, as many escalops of the second. UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Considering that the Black Death, caused by insanitary conditions, carried off between 1348 and 1375 more than half the population of the country, it is amazing that so many branches of the Boys survived. It can only be surmised that they nearly all lived in the country and were of a hardy race. Another Sir John was made keeper of Lincoln Castle and collector of the subsidy and poll tax in Lindsey. The war in France in the 9th century went badly with the English, and the levying of the poll tax in 1380 hit a class which had always been exempt from taxation. He migrated to Ingham, Norfolk, with his wife, Catherine Stapleton. Their son, Sir Roger de Boys, married Margaret de Gyningham of Homing, Norfolk ; their altar tomb and figures are in Ingham Church in good order. At the death of John de Boys the tax on the Tolleshunt property of 10s. 11!d. was ordered to be raised to £15 17ld. yearly, until the lawful age of the heir. On the purchase of the Stanstead estate by the De Vere family, 1340, John de Boys became their tenant, followed by Robert and his son. John also held in his demesne as of fee 285 acres of land in Tolleshunt Tregoz of the King. In the records of the small Augustinian Priory of Tiptree, founded in the 12th century, is shown a very disturbed state of affairs. The Prior Thomas, 1389, complained of having been ejected "by the legs " by John Boys, the patron. The church of St. Nicholas formerly belonged to the Priory of Tiptree, the D'Arcy Chapel being added later. The children of John Boys are not recorded, but from D'Arcy records is traced Thomas D'Arcy of Maldon, who married for one of his wives a daughter and coheiress of Boys of Tolleshunt Tregois. In the D'Arey Chapel lie the stately figures of a knight in armour and his wife with a lion and a dog at their feet, and the inscription "John Boys, Esquire, formerly Lord of the Manor, ob. 13th August 1419." Tiptree has now become famous, under the supervision of the Wilkin family, for its fruit and jam factories. The Augustinian Priory of St. Osyth at Thorington came by sale to Lord D'Arey. As this house stands to-day it is one of the finest houses of monastic design in the country. This mansion, the home of the D'Arcys, is surrounded by a moat, which is crossed by a bridge of 4 arches bearing the date I 58 5. The carved panelling, ceiling, and screen in the entrance hall are very fine. Brick was so generally used in the Tudor period in Essex that few half­ timbered houses of the 16th century exist. Later the timberwork was covered by horizontal weather-boarding, as found at Oliphant's Farm Basildon. The monastic church has vanished, but facing the gatehouse 152 T0:\'113 OF SIR ROGER AND LADY BOYS

~~~i~~~,,·.-_...... ,, ..

LAYER ~IARKEY TO\YERS

BRASSES FROM THE D'ARCY CHAPEL is the church, which contains the tomb of John D'Arcy and Frances his wife, who entertained Queen Elizabeth during the great storm, 30th July 1561. "During her stay, about 8 or 9 was as great thunder and lightning as any man ever heard, till past 10 : then great rain till midnight ; insomuch that the people thought the world was at an end and the day of doom come ; it was so terrible " (Nicoll). The Moat Hall at Maldon is sometimes called D'Arcy Tower, after its 14th-century builder, Robert D'Arcy. Antony D'Arcy was sheriff 1512. The farms round Tolleshunt D'Arcy gro,v the "Darcy Spice

JOHN BOYS AND WIFE, 1419

Apple," and the special industry around Coggeshall for 100 years has been the cultivation of seeds. The Dukes, or Gatehouse, which is 70 ft. high, divided into two towers, each containing 8 storeys, stands about l of a mile from Layer Marney Hall, and seems to have been attached to it as a religious house. It was designed by the King's architect, Girolaux de Travini, for Henry, 1st Lord Marney. It is of great architectural interest as an example of the introduction of Renaissance ornament into the structure of an otherwise Gothic building. It is built in terra-cotta and brick and shows a great deal of Italian work. There is a cherished heirloom of a piece of tapestry taken from the room in the Hall in ,vhich Queen Elizabeth slept ; the Hall was later bought by the Rev. James Boys. 1 53 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS Written by the grandson of Catherine Boys, who married the Rev. Bull, after seeing the ruins of the old family seat of " The Dukes," Layer Marney. November 1868. " Home of my Fathers ! " Time hath laid his hand In ruthful ruin on thy stately walls. Thy casements, once so rich with gorgeous hues, Tremble with every breeze. Thy tapestry Now crumbles into dust. The happy sounds That once made thee all life and revelry Have died away for ever! Nought remains To tell thy former pride, save moulded shafts Grey with the moss of years, and gabled roof That points the eye to heaven. As sad I stray Beneath the dusky yews that watch around And ask, where are they gone that once were here ? My sires !-who fondly called these halls their own? A still, small voice replies : "There is no rest For souls immortal in this world of pain ; Lift up thine heart to scenes of life and love Beyond the grave ! Thy sires are happy there." " Home of my Fathers ! " far from mortal eye, Faith sees thee shining in eternal light, Time hath no power o'er thee! Thy golden walls Shall blaze for ever in unclouded day. Music and song shall fill thy courts with praise, And every heart be love and joy and peace.

Richard Boys of Hove, Colchester, ob. 1683 (believed to be nephew of the Dean), and Elizabeth Bendish were the parents of the Rev. James and were present at the siege of that town I 648 when the Royalists, after many defeats, took refuge there for eleven weeks, starvation causing their surrender and the murder of the two unfortunate Royalist leaders, who were shot. The Rev. Geoffrey Fielding, the great authority on Kentish genealogy, says Boys of Toleshurst was descended from Dean Boys through James, who owned property in Toleshurst D'Arcy. Some of the Willes­ borough branch are known to have settled in Essex and spelt their names Boyes and Boyce. The Rev. James became the famous Vicar of Coggeshall, his incumbency lasting 44 years ; he was a remarkably clever man, and is noted for the great number of his own sermons he left behind him, and his exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles, which was published. He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, and married, 1st, 1 54 WILLIAM KEMPE OF FINCHINGFIELD Martha Bennett, who had lived at the old house known as Black Bell, Fenchurch Street, London. During her life Mr. Boys' brother's son, aged eleven years, died of smallpox at the vicarage and was carried to Colchester to be buried. At Mrs. Boys' death in 1685 six gentlewomen carried up '' ye pale with white hoods and white veils." Dorcas, widow of Sir Mark Guyon, was the second wife of the Rev. James Boys. He purchased Layer Marney (mentioned in the chapter on Essex), which passed to his son.James, who married Susanna Bedell, niece to Lady Guyon. James was chancellor at law and had one son and nine daughters ; at his death the mansion known as The Dukes was jointly divided between three sisters who, legend says, believed themselves descended from the King of Deira, a kingdom of Northumbria. Lucy, one of the sisters, married the Rev. Charles Ley, a curate of Layer Marney, who was descended from James Ley of Westbury, created Lord Ley of Ley, the descendants being still known as Boys-Ley. Morant, in the History of Colchester, mentions a Richard Boys among the Common Councilmen at the perambulation of the bounds of the city; his daughter married Samuel Rush and left, in 1741, £50 to the charity schools of Colchester. William of Finchingfield, ob. 1768, was a son of the Rev. James Boys. Here also lived William Kempe, and many may wonder, on viewing the handsome tomb of William Kempe in Finchingfield Church, why this man kept voluntary silence for seven years. Legend says " Spains Hall had, by marriage of the sole surviving heiress of the Herveys, passed into the possession of the Kempes, and was held in 1589 by William Kempe, who unfortunately was renowned for occasional fits of bad temper. Not long after his very successful marriage, in a fit of jealousy without the least cause, he bestowed upon his devoted wife, Philippa, that word which it is said should not be repeated. Horrified at causing her pain, he dashed into the woods to think over his misdeed, where he decided to become dumb for seven years, like the animals, who can give no offence with such an unruly member. He was met by Raven Foster, who, believing himself a prophet, advised Kempe to give up the vow scheme, as it would only be fulfilled in anguish : even if he escaped the third and fifth years, the end of the seventh would not give him speech again. " But Kempe kept his vow and occupied himself by yearly superintending the making of seven large fish ponds. During the last night of the appointed time he had gone to bed in the best of spirits when a few hours later a great change came over him, causing such intense pain he would have cried out for help, but found himself not only unable to speak, but unable to move hand or f cot. He had been struck with palsy and died the same day, 1628." L 155 UNDER THIRTY-SEVEN KINGS One must not forget to mention Ralph of Coggeshall, who recorded how fishermen near the village caught in their nets a fish the shape of a man in all points, who was kept at the castle for six months, where, although he was unable to speak, he devoured quantities of raw fish'' and all manner of meats he did gladly eat.'' An authentic record of a gigantic fish caught in the thirteenth century, and another in 1535, may be the result of this legend. Catherine, daughter of the Rev. James Boys of Coggeshall, married the Rev. John Bull of Inworth; they had three sons, all in holy orders, John, Henry and Nicholas. In 1790 the Heralds' Office allowed the Kentish Boys' coat of arms to be amalgamated with the Bulls, whose original arms were given to John Bull, citizen of London, 1588. The father of the Rev. John Bull, 1710, of Barrow, migrated to London, and sent for his son Nicholas, who was apprenticed to a cork cutter and made a fortune. He died at Camberwell, leaving an only son, John (who married Catherine Boys), who, with the Vicars of Littleborough and S. Walden, inherited the houses near the Monument, which, if they had not been sold at the time, would have meant another fortune to the present generation. In Pentworth Rectory grounds was erected by the Rev. E. Bull a lofty tower of Tudor style to the memory of his father, from which can be seen 45 churches. Roger Boys became Vicar of Attle­ borough, that interesting old place with its imposing church which has lost its chancel. It contains the memorial stone of Captain John Gibbs, who, in the day of " Old Noll," for a wager of £500 drove a light chaise and four horses up and down the deepest part of the Devil's Ditch on Newmarket Heath. From Norfolk Archreological Records it appears that cider was made in this old town prior to 1281 . The popularity of cider waned in the Middle Ages, but during recent years it has again regained the prestige it had lost through the energies of Wm. Raymer, that old English gentleman who traces his descent back to Geoffrei de Gaimar (a Trouvere) and was historian of the Norman occupation of England. In the 19th century Marks Hall, Coggeshall, became the property of Lady Honeywood. There are in the village interesting remnants of the Cistercian Abbey of 1140, said to have been the earliest brickwork in England after the Romans. The name of Boys will never die out in this country, as many places have been named afterthem-e.g., Johnnie Boys Bridge, Colchester; Theydon Bois Church, given by Wm. de Bosco to the Priory of St. Bartholomew, West Smithfield ; while in the colonies the name of Boyes has followed the famous magistrate who lived near Cape Town, the new road there being called Boyes Drive. 156 THE FAULKENER BOYS Nor must be forgotten the Boyes of Yorkshire, from whom sprang Faulkener Boyes of Beverley. His three sons were in the Navy, one of whom, Capt. Henry Ernest Boyes, settled in California and founded the hot mineral springs which are called after him. Thus finishes the record of a few members of a famous family. In years to come other documents may come to light which may record deeds of future descendants who are an honour to their country. For the present one can only add three verses from the well-known hymn.

1 • " On the Resurrection morning Soul and body meet again ; No more sorrow, no more weeping, no more pain !

2. On that happy Easter morning All the graves their dead restore : Father, sister, child and mother, meet once more.

3· To that brightest of all meetings Bring us, Jesus Christ, at last ; By Thy Cross, through death and judgment, holding fast.'' AMEN.

157

INDEX

A Bosco, Henry de, 21 -, Hugo de, 8 Alcock, Thomas, 32 -, Johanne de, 20 -, William, 92 -, Robert de, 7, 18, 91 Alfred the Great, 118 -, Roger de, 20 All Souls, Oxford, 96, 122 Boyce, Hector, 5 Attleborough, 156 -, Henry Arthur, 6 Attwood, 5 Boys, A. H., 142 Augustine Priory, 12, 152 -, Agnes Isa" bella," 50, 141 -, Allen, 92 -, Angela, 60 B -, Anthonie, 95 -, Anthony, 94 Baliol le Scot, 120 -, Catherine, of Coggeshall, 156 Balliol College, 121 -, Capt. Charles \Vorsley, 73 Bargrave, Dean, 60, 62 -, Rev. Charles, 73 Barham Court, 37 -, Professor Charles Vernon, 73 Barrie, Sir John, 97 -, Christopher, 72 -, Richard, 98 -, Daniel, 124 Battle Abbey Roll, 5, 9 -, Edith, 31 Beany Institute, 19 -, Edmund, 43 Beauvais, Dr., 85 -, Edward, Sir, of Betteshanger, Benenden, 124 43,45 Bennett, 109, 155 -, -, the younger, 46, 48, 66 Betteshanger, 29, 64, 124 -, -, Commander, 142 - Mill, 125 -, -, Commodore, 74 Black Prince, 15 -, -, Grotius, 65 Blean Court, 55 -, -, Rev., of Mautby, 63 Blue Dick, 70 -, Elizabeth, of Sandwich, 78 Bois, Francis John, of Jersey, 52 -, Galfrid de, 21-22 -, Sir Guy, 151 -, George, 70 -, Herbert de, 8 -, Grotius, 65, 86 -, Sir Humphrey de, 5 -, Harry, " Blind," 141 -, John de, 6 -, Henry de Useburn, 151 -, Canon John, 51-52 -, Admiral Henry, 144 -, Robert de, 5 -, Vice-Admiral H. H., 124 -, Le Sieur de, 5 -, Major Henry, 90 -, William de, 7 -, Henry, of Mailmains, 145 Bonnyngton,6, 16, 24 -, Dr. Henry, of Toronto, 44, -, Maude de, 6, 21 81 INDEX Boys, Henry Cowell, " Old Boys, Thomas, Rev., of Bettes­ Boys," 147 hanger, 65, 111 -, Isabella, 30 -, -, of Bonnyngton, 6, 24, -, James, Rev., of Coggeshall, 29, 31, l I I 1 53 - - - Sandwich 78 -, Joan, of Betteshanger, 64 -,' -,' Sir, of Deal, '94 -, John, of Betteshanger, 14, 23, -, -, Dr., of Fredville, 19, 55 124, 132 -, --, of Godmersham, 124 -, -, - Chilham, 47 - ' - , - Mersham ' 121 -, -, Dean of Canterbury, -, Thomazine, 42 58,60 -, Toke Harvey, 136 -, -, Sir, of Denton, 91 -, Vincent, of Bekesbourne, 64 -, -, Sir, of Donnington, 30, 32 -, -, - Bonnyngton, 29, 30 -, -, Sir, of Essex, 23 -, William Alves, Ontario, 82 -, -, Major, of Fredville, 47, 48 -, -, -, Bonnyngton, 42 -, - Harvey of Margate, 133 -, -, Capt., of Deal, 74 -, -, of Hoad (Capt.), 56 -, -, Sir, M.D., of Fredville, -, -, -, -, Colonel, 57 43, 55 -, -, M.D., of London, 72 -, -, of Finchingfield, 155 -, -, of Margate, 132 -,-,-London, 52

- ) - ) - Norfolk , 8 -, -, - Sandcroft, 6, 7 -, - Paramour, 82 -, -, Dr., of Sandwich, 73, 77 -, -, Sir, of St. Gregories, 19, Boys Hall, Willesborough, 97 83,86 Boys-Ley, 155 -, Markby, Archdeacon of Boyes Drive, S. Africa, 156 Bombay, 120, 141 -, Faulkener, 157 -, Mary, 44 -, Capt. H. E., 157 -, Nichol, Sir, of Bonnyngton, Boyse, Ralph, 104 23 Brabourne, 120 -, Brig.-Gen. R. H. H., 145 Bradford, Lieut.-Col., 66 -, Rev. Richard, of Attle- -, Brig.-Gen., 66 borough, 156 Bret, 16 -, Richard, Crusader, 104 Brett, ·or. Thomas, 64, 67 -, -, of Hawkhurst, 104 Bridges, Sir Brook, 49, 132 -, -, - Hove, Essex, 154 Broadstairs, 1 o -, -, Sir, of Suffolk, 8 Bromley Hill, 50 -, -, Rev., of St. Helena, 138 - Lodge, 50 -, Robert, Sir, Crusader, 23, 103 Bruce, Robert, 119 -, -, of Kingston, 30, 11 I Bull, Rev. James, 154 -, -, Taylor, 42 -, Roger, Sir, of Norfolk, 156 -, Sampson, of Deal, 72 C -, Samuel, 105 -, - Harvey, 106 Canterbury, 15 -, Stephen, 43 Carisbrooke Castle, 8 160 INDEX Cawston, 50 Finchingfield, 155 Challock, 29 Fitzurse, Reginald, 16 Chandos-Brydges Case, 132 FitzWalter, Lord, 23 · Charlemagne, Emperor, I 17 Fleet Prison, 68 Charles I, 59 Fogg, Ann, 72 Charter House, 47 -, John, 93 Chichele, Archbishop, 123 -, Richard, 103 Chilham, 47 Fotherby, Sir John, 37 Clare, 6, 10, 24 Fredville, 29, 42, 49 Coggeshall, 156 Friend, Mary, I 11 Combe, 109 Copperfield, David, 83 Corfe Castle, 15 I G Cossington, Sir Stephen de, 66 Craigie, 120 Ghost Panelling, 99 Crusades, 22 Glyn, R. Carr, 49 Godfrey, Sir Edmund-Berry, D 52-54 Godmersham, 124 Dalison, Elizabeth, 57 Goodnestone, 28 D'Arcy Chapel, 152 Gordon, 120 Darrett, Rev. Nicholas, LL.D ., 64 - Riots, 92 Deal, 29, 72, 95 Graham, 141 Denton, 29, 92, 93 Great Rebellion, 18 De Vere, 152 Greenwich Hospital, 74 Donnington Castle, 33, 36 -, Poem, 37 Dover Castle, 47 H Drury, Sir Robert, 63 Halberton, 8 Hales, Edward, 120 E Ham Hopes, 64 Hammond, W. 0., 34 Each, 111 -, Mrs., Letter, 57 Ely Cathedral, 51 Hardy, Miss, 49 Ethelbert, 9 Harvey, Sir Henry, 76 Eythorn, 48 -, Mary, 109, 111 -, Captain John, 73 -, Rev. Richard, 111 F Hawkhurst, 97, 104 Head, Sir Richard, 57 Fairlight, 105 Henderson, Sir Reginald, 145 Feather Work, 27 Henrietta Maria, 59 Ferris, Rev. Thomas Boys, 105 " His Majesty," 126 Finch, Sir Nathaniel, 34, 38 Hobbs, 103 INDEX Honeywood, Mary, 29 Minster, Sheppey, 68 Howard, Admiral Sir John, 8 More, Sir Thomas, 42 Moreville, Hugh de, 16 I Morrice, 65

Ickham, 103 N Indian Mutiny, 141 lngoldsby Legends, 25 Napoleon Bonaparte, 138, 143 Northbourne,47,64,67,68 J Norwood, 32

Jesus Hospital Rules, 88 0

K Odo, 6, 91 Olifards, 119 Kempe, 109, 123, 155 Oliphant, James, 120 Knatchbull, Catherine, 144 Old Dutch House, 83 -, Mary, 109,137 Owen, Rev. Ernest, 103 Oxenden, 92, 103 L p Lamb, Capt. Charles, 105 Layer Marney, 153 Palmer, Sir Edward, 23 Legend of Bonnyngton, 25 Paramour, John, 76 - - Boys Hall, 100-102 Parbo, Edmund, 71, 76 - - Fredville, 50 Pentworth, 156 - - Tappington, 93 Pepin, Mayor of France, 116 Leigh Malin, 94 Pepys, Samuel, 35 Lincoln Castle, 152 Peyton, Sir R., 91 Little Boys Hall, 103 Pharos, I 1 Lovelace, Colonel Richard, 37 Philpots, 45 Lovers' Seat, Hastings, 105 Plumptree, 49 " Luxborough," 75 " Political Table," 126

M R

Manwood School, 70 Reading, John, 47 -, Sir Peter, 70 Reculvers, 9, 10 -, Sir Roger, 70 Roberts, Henry Boys, 96 Marney, John de, 64 Rolf, Wm., 78 Maude, 109 Romsey Abbey, 118 Melhuish, 119 Roos, Thomas, 55 Merovingian Kings, 116 Roper, Alice, 42, 45 162 INDEX Rowe, Sir Thomas, 47 Toulouse, 79 Rupert, Prince, 32 Tracy, 16 Trebois, 5 s Trewman, 120 Turner, Thomas, 48 Sackville, 47 Sampson, Amy, 72 -, Wm., 48 Sandcroft, Archbishop, 6, 7 Sandwich,29, 69 u Sandy, Col., 47 Sankey, 111 U :ffington, 72, 103 Scott, 109 Scotts Hall, Smeeth, 120 V Seneffe, 56 Septimus Severus, 9 Vulliamy, 73 Sevington, 97 Sherborne, 8, 72 w Sidney, Sir Philip, 44 South Court, Sheppey, 92 Wace, Dean, 103 Spain, Lieut ....:Col. G. B., 124 Wadham College, 123 Spains Hall, 155 Wake, Rev., 57 Springett, 109 Walcheren Expedition, 72 St. Alban's Court, 34 Walmer Castle, 72 St. Bernard's College, 123 Walsingham, Sir Francis, 44 St. Clement's, Sandwich, 47, 77 Warren, 109, 119 St. Gregories, Canterbury, 29 Wat Tyler, 18 St. Helena, 138 Wentworth, Sir Peter, 44, 45 St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, 92 West Stow, 52 St. Martin's, Canterbury, 12 White Friars, Sandwich, 76 St. Mildred's, 42 Wingham, 23 St. Stephen's, 92 Wingham, Sir Walter de, 43 Stephens, Martha, 132 Wood, Sir John, 5 Surrey Branch, 29 Woodwell, 103 Worsley, 72 T Willesborough, 97 William the Conqueror, 118 Tappington Hall, 92 Wren, Sir Christopher,' 122 -, Gerald de, 92 Tenterden, 103 y The Two Sisters, 10 Thomas a Becket, 16, 17 Y erde, Thomas, 91 Tiptree, I 52 -, J., 93 Tollesbury, 25 Tolleshunt D'Arcy, 25, 152 Toke, Nicholas, 136 z Toke, 100, 109 Zeebrugge, 66